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Spotlight on Jason McCall

I just discovered the poet Jason McCall. I was looking at literary magazines, and I stumbled upon his poem Roll Call for Michael Brown in the magazine Rattle. The poem sets up the theoretical scenario of one of Michael Brown's college professors accidentally calling his name while taking attendance. I instantly fell in love with the idea behind this poem. It's entirely plausible. We are all so busy, so focused on our own concerns, we can forget Michael Brown's death, even though it only occurred a short time ago. Of course, the poem is also incredibly well-written. I think my favorite line from the poem is, "Someone will / read his name like the next item on a list / of groceries". Mm! It hurts!

 So I decided to read some more poetry by Jason McCall, and I found We Love Throwback Thursday in The Rappahannock Review. The title suggested whimsy, but I was fooled. This poem knocked me on my ass before the first comma. He says we like to pretend that the past is far behind us, but we live with our personal histories everyday, in the lines on our skin and the lines we won't cross. Ain't that the truth?

 Anyway, kudos Jason McCall. Your poetry made me feel something.

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