Jackson Black and His Magic Words

Blogcast 1: Visions and Voices

Through this podcast, I want to highlight writers and storytellers who might help turn the world right side up.

Chalkboard that says "Clase de academia de 2023" and lists childrens' names.

Food for Thought — in Spanish — from Kennett Square

We hope to share more stories on The Mighty Writers Podcast that are accessible to a Spanish-speaking audience in the future.

A woman looking off in the distance, standing against a brick wall.

Blogcast 2: Sound Edits

While there is no mystery around the try-to-have-an-interesting-conversation part of my new work, I have had some epiphanies about audio storytelling...I have been pretty awed by the power of editing.

A black and white photo of someone kneeling in a church pew praying, and viewed from the back.

Contributor: “Normal”

Linda Geraghty shares a piece on Maureen Boland's Blogcast that is part of a memoir she is writing about generational trauma.

Victoria Best sitting outside at a picnic table with her hands folded, talking to Maureen Boland.

Victoria Best: Changing Kids’ Lives

Victoria's story illustrates how each of us can make a difference, especially when we dedicate ourselves to nurturing relationships with kids who need us the most.

I multicolor sign spelling out "LOVE" but the "V" has been replaced by purple flowers in a vase.

Contributor: “Jaime’s Story”

Rachel Brind, a Philadelphia-based writing coach and Mighty Writers volunteer, authored this foster care story for a person who wishes to remain anonymous and shares it on Maureen Boland's Blogcast.

Rodin sculpture in the foreground with blue sky and trees in the background.

Contributor: “Treatment”

Charles Carr reads his poem "Treatment" for Maureen Boland's Blogcast, which uses the bureaucratic language of the foster care system to reveal hard truths.

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.

Mighty Writers Podcast · Magic Words