Blogcast 3: Jackson Black and His Magic Words

I met Jackson Black, aka Skarr the Conqueror, in March 2023 at the Mighty Writers writing workshop I run at Covenant House on Thursday nights. 

Jackson has a strong presence. He's tall and fit with a sharp jaw. He carries himself a bit like a soldier - not unfriendly, but guarded. 

Until his jaw loosens as he breaks into a very wide and very deep smile. Then he seems more like a bashful movie star on the cover of a magazine.

Until he talks about his battles to survive his childhood. Then he seems more like a poet and philosopher - someone too good for this world. His storytelling has a sense of the epic, reminding me of the rhapsodes of ancient Greece I used to talk about when I was teaching "The Odyssey."

Like most of the kids I've worked with at Covenant House, Jackson has many interesting dimensions to his personality, a stunning amount of wisdom and immense compassion toward a world that doesn't necessarily deserve it given everything he's had to conquer.

For months, I'd been looking for a Mighty Writer who could put together some beats and lyrics for the podcast theme music. After Jackson shared some of his lyrics in a workshop for the first time, there was a stunned silence among participants, because it was obvious we were in the presence of someone special. I knew I'd found my guy. 

Within 24 hours of asking if he could come up with something, he sent me a track called "Magic Words." He wrote it and produced it on his phone in a little meditation room at Covenant House. 

I hope you'll listen and reach out with supportive feedback I can pass along to Jackson, who's out in Los Angeles working on creating the life of his dreams.