BUFFALO, NY – The Canisius University Contemporary Writers Series will welcome acclaimed poet and writer Marcus Jackson to campus on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. The reading will take place in the Grupp Fireside Lounge, located in the Richard E. Winter ’42 Student Center. The event is free and open to the public. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. A question-and-answer session and reception will follow the reading.
Jackson is the author of the poetry collections Neighborhood Register and Pardon My Heart. His poems and photographs have appeared in The American Poetry Review, The New Yorker and The New York Times Magazine, among other publications. His forthcoming book, Love’s Austere and Lonely Offices—a collection of street portraits and poems—will be published in June 2026.
Jackson lives in Columbus, Ohio, where he serves as director of the creative writing MFA program at The Ohio State University. His work is known for its attention to place, community and the intimate intersections of image and language.
The Contemporary Writers Series brings nationally and internationally recognized writers to Canisius University to share their work and engage students and the community in conversations about the literary arts. Past guests have included Pulitzer Prize winners, National Book Award recipients, MacArthur “genius” grant winners, and a Nobel Laureate, including Richard Russo, George Saunders, Edwidge Danticat, Sharon Olds, Ann Patchett, Junot Díaz, Tracy K. Smith, Alice McDermott, and Seamus Heaney.
Founded with a grant from the John R. Oishei Foundation and continued through the Peter Canisius Distinguished Teaching Professorship Program, the Contemporary Writers Series is generously supported by the Hassett, Scoma, and Lowery Endowments, the National Endowment for the Arts, and in cooperation with The Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, Just Buffalo Literary Center, The Center for Urban Education, and Talking Leaves Books.
For more information, contact Mick Cochrane, professor of English and coordinator of the Contemporary Writers Series, at @email.
Canisius was founded in 1870 in Buffalo, NY, and is one of 27 Jesuit colleges and universities in the U.S. Consistently ranked among the top institutions in the Northeast, Canisius offers undergraduate, graduate and pre-professional programs distinguished by close student-faculty collaboration, mentoring and an emphasis on ethical, purpose-driven leadership.
