Fleda Brown Jackson: 03-01-1995

Abstract

Fleda Brown Jackson earned her PhD in American Literature at the University of Arkansas and is known for her poetry collections Fishing with Blood and Do Not Peel the Birches. She begins the interview by reading two poems from Do Not Peel the Birches, “Night Swimming” and “Learning to Dance.” The interview continues with a conversation about water as a central theme in her poetry. Jackson goes on to discuss memories and their importance in her writing, and reads her poem “Piano.” She talks about the evolution of her writing as well as how her first poetry collection, Fishing with Blood, came together. She concludes the interview by discussing her methods of teaching poetry to her own students.