Marcus Jackson, assistant professor of poetry, was awarded the Ohioana Book Award in poetry for his collection Pardon My Heart. Upon the collection's release in April of 2018, The New York Times described Jackson's poetry as “plain-spoken but never plain… [Pardon My Heart] confirms the arrival of a thrilling new voice in American poetry, one whose writing, on page after page, has the fullness and glow of a jubilee.” 

Jackson was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, and earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Toledo. He went on to study poetry in New York University's Graduate Creative Writing Program and as a Cave Canem Fellow. He lives in Columbus with his wife and daughter. 

Jackson was also one of six finalists for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in Poetry. 

Additionally, Ohioana named MFA Student David Grandouiller as the recipient of the 30th Walter Rumsey Marvin Grant, a competitive prize awarded to an Ohio writer who is aged thirty or younger and who has not yet published a book. Grandouiller was born in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire and raised in Jamestown, Ohio. He is currently in his third year as an MFA candidate.

First given in 1942, the Ohioana Book Awards are the second oldest, and among the most prestigious, state literary prizes in the nation. Nearly every major writer from Ohio in the past 78 years has been honored, from James Thurber to Toni Morrison.

The awards will be presented October 17 in the Atrium of Ohio’s historic Statehouse in Columbus.

By Avery Samuels