Naomi Jackson Explained

Naomi Jackson^[1] is an American author most known for her novel The Star Side of Bird Hill, which was nominated for the NAACP Image Award.^[2] She is a Fulbright recipient, and a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

Her first novel, The Star Side of Bird Hill, was received positively by critics. It boasts recommendations by Entertainment Weekly, Oprah.com, The Huffington Post, Kirkus Reviews, Travel & Leisure, Bustle, Publishers Weekly, Gawker, Minnesota Public Radio, and For Harriet.^{[3] [4]}

Reception

Naomi Jackson's debut novel, The Star Side of Bird Hill, was met immediately with high praise. Highly recommended by Gawker and The Huffington Post, NPR's book review "A Lyrical Coming Of Age Tale In 'Bird Hill'"^[5] was more critical. In this piece critic Michael Schaub call "[''Star Side of Bird Hill''] excellent for a debut novel, though it's not entirely without its flaws." He criticizes it for its treatment of supporting characters and a plot which, he writes, "seems to get away from her towards the end." However, these flaws, "are hardly mortal sins, especially for a first-time novelist." Throughout his review, he praises the writing of the character, Phaedra, which he says makes the book worth reading.

Isabella Biedenharn with Entertainment Weekly gave it a more positive review,^[6] calling it, "so poetic in its descriptions and so alive with lovable, frustrating, painfully real characters, that your emotional response to it becomes almost physical." She goes on to praise Naomi Jackson's treatment of Dionne, Hyacinthe, and Errol, as well as Phaedra.

Honors and awards

• Scholar-in-Residence, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Fall 2021
• Early Career Research Fellowship, Institute for the Study of Global Racial Justice, Rutgers University, 2021-2022
• Juno Grant, The Freya Project, Summer 2021
• Bronx Recognizes its Own (BRIO) Award, Bronx Council on the Arts, 2020
• Finalist, Jerome Foundation Individual Artist Fellowship, 2019 & 2020
• Notable Essay, Best American Essays 2018, selected by Hilton Als
• New York Foundation for the Arts/New York State Council on the Arts Fellowship, 2018
• Djerassi Artist Residency, Summer 2018
• MacDowell Colony Fellowship, Winter 2017 & Winter 2019^[7]
• Headlands Artist in Residence Program, Alternate, December 2016
• 2017 International Dublin Literary Award (formerly IMPAC award) Long List, November 2016
• The Star Side of Bird Hill - Official Selection, City of New York's Gracie Book Club, Fall 2016
• Winner, Late Night Library Debut-litzer Prize in Fiction, August 2016^[8]
• Brooklyn Public Library Brooklyn Eagles Literary Prize in Fiction Long List, July 2016
• Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in Debut Fiction Nomination, June 2016^[9]
• Fiction Fellowship, 2016 Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference
• Honor Book for Fiction, Black Caucus of the American Library Association, January 2016
• National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize for First Book Long List, December 2015
• NAACP Image Award Nomination, Outstanding Literary Work – Debut Author, December 2015^[10]
• 2015 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize Long List, July 2015
• Camargo Foundation Fellowship, Cassis, France, Fall 2014

Publications

Books

• The Star Side of Bird Hill, Novel, Penguin Press, June 30, 2015 (paperback, August 30, 2016)^[11]

Stories and Articles

• "Her Kind," Harper's (December 2021)^[12]
• “One in a Million: An Elegy for Aaliyah,” Harper's Bazaar (August 2021)^[13]
• Review of Zakiya Dalila Harris’s The Other Black Girl, Washington Post (June 2021)^[14]
• Review of Monica West’s Revival Season, Washington Post (May 2021)^[15]
• “I Wanted to Celebrate My 40th Birthday at Crop Over. COVID-19 Had Other Plans,” Harper's Bazaar (February 2021)^[16]
• Review of Ladee Hubbard’s The Rib King, Washington Post (January 2021)^[17]
• Review of Robert Jones, Jr.’s The Prophets, Washington Post (January 2021)^[18]
• “The Confounding Insistence on Innocence: A Conversation with Danielle Evans,” Poets & Writers, (Nov/Dec 2020)^[19]
• “A Litany for Survival: Giving Birth as A Black Woman in America,” Harper's (September 2020)^[20]
• Review of Ingrid Persaud’s Love After Love, Washington Post (August 2020)^[21]
• Review of Zora Neale Hurston’s Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick, Washington Post (January 2020)^[22]
• “Joy Comes in the Morning: Finding Sanctuary in the Wake of Pulse,” Virginia Quarterly Review (June 2017)^[23]
• “Minding the Gap: On Sex & Love & the In-Between,” Tin House (#69, Fall 2016)^[24]
• “Making the Road by Walking: From Brooklyn to the Iowa Writers’ Workshop,” Poets & Writers, (Sept/Oct 2016)
• “Falling in Love with Bahia & Brazil: On Blackness, Saudade & Surrender,” Words Without Borders (July 2016)^[25]
• “To Be Young, Gifted and Black: A Travelogue of Black Women Artists in France and America,” Apogee (May 2015)^[26]
• Digital essays for BuzzFeed, Elle.com, espnW, LitHub, and New York Magazine’s The Cut (2015-2016)^{[27] [28]}
• "Bumpers,” Kweli (August 2014)^[29]
• “Fever,” Caribbean Beat (July/August 2005)^[30]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Bio . 2022-06-02 . Naomi Jackson . en-US.
2. Web site: NAACP Image Awards - Outstanding Literary Work . 2022-04-09 . AALBC.com, the African American Literature Book Club . en.
3. Web site: Press & Praise . 2022-06-02 . Naomi Jackson . en-US.
4. Web site: 2015-07-09 . Naomi Jackson . 2022-06-03 . Poets & Writers . en.
5. News: Schaub . Michael . 2015-06-30 . A Lyrical Coming Of Age Tale In 'Bird Hill' . en . NPR . 2022-06-06.
6. Web site: June 26 . Isabella Biedenharn Updated . EDT . 2015 at 04:01 PM . 'The Star Side of Bird Hill' by Naomi Jackson: EW review . 2022-06-06 . EW.com . en.
7. Web site: Naomi Jackson - Artist . 2022-06-03 . MacDowell . en.
8. Web site: 2016 DEBUT-LITZER PRIZE WINNERS . 2022-06-03 . Blubrry Podcasting - Podcast Hosting, Statistics, WordPress Hosting, Syndication Tools and Directory.
9. Web site: Naomi Jackson . 2022-06-03 . Hurston/Wright Foundation . en-US.
10. Web site: NAACP Image Awards - Outstanding Literary Work . 2022-06-03 . AALBC.com, the African American Literature Book Club . en.
11. Web site: The Star Side of Bird Hill by Naomi Jackson: 9780143109167 PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books . 2022-06-03 . PenguinRandomhouse.com . en-US.
12. Jackson . Naomi . 2021-11-10 . Her Kind: On losing and finding my mind . en . December 2021 . Harper's Magazine . 2022-06-03 . 0017-789X.
13. Jackson . Naomi . 2021-08-25 . One in a Million: An Elegy for Aaliyah . 2022-06-03 . Harper's BAZAAR . en-US.
14. News: Review 'The Other Black Girl' should be at the top of your summer reading list . en-US . Washington Post . 2022-06-03 . 0190-8286.
15. News: Review The spellbinding 'Revival Season' makes Monica West an author to watch . en-US . Washington Post . 2022-06-03 . 0190-8286.
16. Jackson . Naomi . 2021-02-18 . I Wanted to Celebrate My 40th Birthday at Crop Over. COVID-19 Had Other Plans. . 2022-06-03 . Harper's BAZAAR . en-US.
17. News: Review Ladee Hubbard's 'The Rib King' is a fascinating look at ambition, race and revenge . en-US . Washington Post . 2022-06-03 . 0190-8286.
18. News: Review 'The Prophets' reimagines the lives of enslaved people with the epic love story of two men . en-US . Washington Post . 2022-06-03 . 0190-8286.
19. Web site: 2020-10-07 . The Confounding Insistence on Innocence: A Q&A With Danielle Evans . 2022-06-03 . Poets & Writers . en.
20. Jackson . Naomi . 2020-08-14 . A Litany for Survival: Giving birth as a black woman in America . en . September 2020 . Harper's Magazine . 2022-06-03 . 0017-789X.
21. News: Review 'Love After Love' reminds readers why we go to books in search of answers to life's great questions . en-US . Washington Post . 2022-06-03 . 0190-8286.
22. News: Review For many writers, Zora Neale Hurston's work has been a guiding light. Now there's even more to read. . en-US . Washington Post . 2022-06-03 . 0190-8286.
23. Web site: Jackson . Naomi . June 13, 2017 . Joy Comes in the Morning .
24. Web site: Sex, Again? . 2022-06-03 . Tin House . en-US.
25. Web site: Jackson . Naomi . Falling in Love with Bahia & Brazil: On Negritude, Saudade, & Surrender . 2022-06-03 . Words Without Borders.
26. Web site: Naomi Jackson, To Be Young Gifted and Black: A Travelogue of Black Women Artists in France and America . 2022-06-03 . Apogee Journal . en-US.
27. Web site: Jackson . Naomi . 2015-09-09 . Why It Matters That Serena Williams Keeps Winning . 2022-06-03 . ELLE . en-US.
28. Web site: Jackson . Naomi . Every Day Something Has Tried To Kill Me . 2022-06-03 . BuzzFeed . en.
29. Web site: Bumpers by A. Naomi Jackson . 2022-06-03 . KWELI / Truth From the Diaspora's Boldest Voices . en-US.
30. Web site: Jackson . Naomi . 2005-07-01 . Fever . 2022-06-03 . Caribbean Beat Magazine . en-GB.