Pardon My Heart is an exploration of love in the contemporary African American consciousness. Marcus Jackson’s poetry examines the heritage of the Great Migration and the pathways that forged African American cultural identity. Through blues, jazz, and the discovery of new livelihoods in northern industrial hubs—the people and voices in Pardon My Heart have a vibrant tradition of love to compete with, or to escape. Adult grandchildren of the Great Migration, the speakers and subjects in Jackson’s poetry depict the urgency and pliability of contemporary African American love and loss.
 
In this strong, lyrically complex collection, Jackson documents an African American young adulthood and the movement toward courtship, marriage, and maturing love. Pardon My Heart reckons with past experiences and revelatory hard-earned ideas about race and class that will resonate with importance in this urgent political climate.