Mitchell Jackson Reading at U. Of Portland

Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Mitchell Jackson, a Schoenfeldt Writer, joins the University of Portland for a talk “Prison to the Pen: Mitchell S. Jackson’s Extraordinary Journey.” A native of Portland (now a professor at Arizona State University), Jackson’s work explores his hometown, including the systemic forces that shaped his community, his family, and his early life.

His acclaimed novel The Residue Years won the Ernest J. Gaines Prize for Literary Excellence. His memoir Survival Math: Notes on an All-American Family explores hardships that shaped his life, including the racial history of Oregon, American whiteness, mass incarceration, the economics of sex work, violence, and family cohesion – a microcosm of forces blighting untold disenfranchised Americans.

This year, his profile of Ahmaud Arbery in Runner’s World “Twelve Minutes and a Life,” won the Pulitzer Prize. Jackson’s honors include a Whiting Award and fellowships from TED, Guggenheim, the Lannan Foundation, and many others. He serves on the board of Literary Arts in Portland, and is at work on his next novel, John of Watts, which follows the rise and fall of a cult leader in Oregon.

Mitchell S. Jackson will speak on his life and work on Wednesday, Nov. 10 at a 7:30 p.m. with a lecture, followed by a time for questions and book signing. This event will be held in Buckley Center Auditorium and livestreamed; advanced registration is required for all attendees.