The Howard University creative writing department announced Niveah Glover as the winner of the Reuben Jackson Poetry Prize. Glover also received the honorable mention award.
The Reuben Jackson Poetry Prize is a contest presented by the Academy of American Poets in conjunction with Howard University’s Bison Literature Department. The award gives students an opportunity to share their work with established poets and includes an official letter from the academy, a $100 honorarium and a one-year membership to the organization.
The award is now in its second year, having launched last spring. It is open to all Howard students, including those pursuing their graduate degrees. This year’s winner, Glover, is a sophomore creative writing major who has been writing and performing poetry since she was 11.
Glover won first place for her poem “Poor Black Math” and received honorable mention for “This Is Why My Name Is Niveah.”
She said both poems are influenced by her experience growing up in a predominantly Black, low-income neighborhood.
“I’m a proud Jacksonville and proud Northside baby, and I grew up around a lot of poverty,” Glover said.
As she continues her journey at Howard, Glover said she feels a responsibility to reflect her life experiences in her work. She referenced advice from a poetry mentor who told her, “Go so deep into yourself you speak for everyone.”
“Poetry is one of the greatest forms to do that work. The more you are invested in going deep into yourself, talking about the hard experiences, talking about the hard truth, you almost automatically end up representing not only yourself, but all the people who grew up just like you,” Glover said.
This year’s prize was judged by Brandon D. Johnson, a poet affiliated with the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Johnson described Glover’s work as “a well-written poem of the moment, but of many moments.”
“The struggle, its insistence on math that is so true, but so often ignored. It is the mathematics that justifies discrimination, that justifies pain. It is the math that is ignored, and when brought to the table, is labeled politics rather than a concern for humanity,” Johnson said.
Johnson was also a close friend of Reuben Jackson, for whom the award is named.
Jackson, a poet and music scholar from the Washington area, died in 2024 at age 68. Through this prize, his legacy of creative writing and empowerment continues on.
Glover will read her work and receive her award during the Bison Lit Fest, a showcase for creative writing students, scheduled for April 22 and 23 at the Alain Locke Hall on Howard’s campus.
Tony Medina, director and associate chair of creative writing, said Glover’s work reflects the program’s mission.
“[Niveah] represents the future of Black literature. That’s what we’re doing here at Howard,” Medina said.
Taylor Swinton is a reporter and editor for HUNewsService.com.
