Blyden Jackson (novelist)

Blyden Jackson
BornJune 2, 1936
New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
DiedApril 29, 2012(2012-04-29) (aged 75–76)
Bayonne, New Jersey, United States
Occupation
  • Civil rights activist
  • marine
  • author
  • emergency medical technician
LanguageEnglish
Genre

Blyden Brown Jackson Jr. (June 2, 1936 – April 29, 2012) was an American civil rights activist, marine, author, and emergency medical technician.[1] He is best known for his novels Operation Burning Candle and Totem. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut and died in Bayonne, New Jersey.[1] During his life he served in the US Marines, where his experiences helped shaped the writing of Operation Burning Candle.[2] He served as the chairman of the New Haven, Connecticut chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in the early-to-mid-1960s. He later founded and became the chairman of East River CORE, located on the east side of 125th street in Harlem, in New York City.[3]

His last novel, For One Day of Freedom, was published posthumously by ANTIBOOKCLUB in December 2021.

Education

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Jackson took fiction writing classes at New York University where he was taught by Sidney Offit.[2]

Novels

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  • 1973: Operation Burning Candle
  • 1975: Totem
  • 2021: For One Day of Freedom

Media appearances

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  • 1974-05-04. "Novelist Blyden Jackson, an SCE writing student, discusses his 1973 novel Operation Burning Candle with host Walter James Miller".[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/burlingtonfreepress/obituary.aspx?n=blyden-brown-jackson&pid=157434793/ [dead link]
  2. ^ a b "Blyden Jackson | WNYC | New York Public Radio, Podcasts, Live Streaming Radio, News". WNYC.
  3. ^ "Jackson, Blyden Brown, June 2, 1936– April 29, 2012". crdl.usg.edu.
  4. ^ "Blyden Jackson". The NYPR Archive Collections.