The Clark College Columbia Writers Series hosts Mitchell S. Jackson

January 10, 2017
For Immediate Release
High-resolution photos of Mitchell Jackson available upon request.

For additional information:
Hannah Erickson, Communications & Marketing
Telephone: 360-992-2954
E-mail: herickson@clark.edu

Former Clark student and award-winning author of “The Residue Years” visits Jan. 17

VANCOUVER, Wash. – During the 2017 winter quarter installment of its renowned Columbia Writers Series, Clark College will welcome back former student Mitchell S. Jackson, award-winning author of the novel The Residue Years.  

Mitchell (full bio below) will read from and discuss his writing from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 17, in room PUB 258 on Clark's main campus. The event is free and open to the public. Directions and maps are available online. Individuals who need accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in this event should contact Clark College’s Disability Support Services (DSS) Office at 360-992-2314 or 360-991-0901 (VP) or visit room PUB 013.

The Columbia Writers Series was launched at Clark College in 1988, bringing local, national and international authors to the college and the region. Information about the Columbia Writers Series is available at www.clark.edu/cc/cws.

About Mitchell S. Jackson

Raised in Portland, Mitchell Jackson is the author of The Residue Years, which was praised by publications including The New York Times, The Paris Review, and The Times of London. Jackson is the winner of a Whiting Award. His novel also won The Ernest J. Gaines Prize for Literary Excellence and was a finalist for the Center for Fiction’s Flaherty-Dunnan First novel prize, the PEN/ Hemingway award for first fiction, and the Hurston / Wright Legacy Award. Jackson’s honors include fellowships from TED, the Lannan Foundation, the BreadLoaf Conference, and the Center for Fiction. It was also the 2015 Everybody Reads selection of the Multnomah County Library. The New York Times said in its review of the book, “Jackson’s prose has a spoken-word cadence, the language flying off the page with percussive energy … there is a warmth and a hard-won wisdom about the intersection of race and poverty in America.”

Jackson began his college career at Clark in 1993, where he played basketball under then-coach David Waldow. Jackson transferred to another college after one year at Clark, eventually earning an M.A. in writing from Portland State University and an M.F.A in Creative Writing from New York University. He currently resides in New York, and serves on the faculty of both New York University and Columbia University.