After fleeing the Midwest and heading to the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, Stephen Jackson eventually made his way to the Pacific Northwest, where he has divided his time between Washington and Oregon, undecided still on settling in Seattle, Portland, or Eugene.
A working-class writer, his poems have appeared widely in print and online publications, including the International Human Rights Art Movement anthology, A Human Voice, The Fictional Café anthology, The Strong Stuff, and the Washington State Queer Poetry Anthology. Recent work appears in Allium, The Branches: A Journal of Literature and Philosophy, fourteen poems, New Ohio Review, and Prairie Fire, and is forthcoming in cream city review and slips slips.
He received honorable mention for the 2021 Penrose Poetry Prize, which “recognizes excellence in LGBTQIA+ writers,” and was a finalist for the 2025 James Tate Poetry Prize, aimed at “the development, celebration and promotion of contemporary Surrealist poetry.” His poems have twice been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. His micro-chapbook, the no-man, is available from Ghost City Press as part of their 2022 Summer Series.
As the sole proprietor of Seattle small press So Many Birds publishing [SMBp], he designed and produced individual poetry books and chapbooks for local writers, championed previously unpublished writers in the biannual chapbook Future+Present, and showcased the work of writers from around the world in the quarterly literary magazine Harness. Select SMBp from the menu to visit the ongoing archive.
Stephen lives on the traditional and ancestral land of the Duwamish (Dxʷdəwʔabš) people. He prefers “he/him” pronouns. All photos, images, and writing that appear on this site are under the copyright of Stephen Jackson/SMBp, unless otherwise noted.
© 2026 Stephen Jackson — all rights reserved.
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