Did you know that Jazz and Culture publishes poetry, in addition to cutting-edge research on jazz from multiple perspectives? Founded on the principle that both scholars and musicians offer invaluable contributions, the journal juxtaposes groundbreaking work by researchers alongside oral histories, articles written by master artists in the field, and inspired creative work. 

“Jazz and poetry have an aesthetic kinship that stretches over the past century of African American cultural practice,” says editor Michael C. Heller.  “Jazz and Culture is proud to highlight this connection within every issue of our journal.” The poetry section is curated by Steffan Triplett of the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for African American Poetry and Poetics.

In celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month and Poetry Month 2026, the following poems will be free to read during the month of April:

• Volume 8, Issue 2, features the work of Kassy Lee, including “Nina Simone in Liberia,” “The International Sweethearts of Rhythm,” and “That Black String Was Grief.” Kassy Lee is a poet from San Diego, California. A Cave Canem fellow, she graduated with an MFA in creative writing from the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan and a BA in comparative literature and society from Columbia.
• Volume 8, Issue 1, features two poems by El Williams, III: “In the Breath” and “Moonlight.” El Williams, III earned a dual MA/MFA in African American and African diaspora studies and creative writing from Indiana University and is currently a doctoral student studying literature and creative writing at the University of Houston.
• Volume 7, Issue 2, highlights “Four Jazz Poems from Indonesia” with an introduction by Otto Stuparitz. The poems are ordered chronologically, starting with W.S. Rendra’s “Lagu Malarn” (Night Song) (1961), followed by Goenawan Mohamad’s “Orfeus Sajak” (Orpheus Verse) (2006), and concluding with Dwi Cahya Yuniman’s “Sekedar Jazz dan Sccangkir Java” (Just Jazz and a Cup of Java) (2020) and “4 Haiku Jazz” (4 Jazz Haikus) (2021).
• Volume 7, Issue 1, contains three poems by Kira Tucker “Sojurn,” “Reverie,” and “Antidote to Midnight Grief.” Kira Tucker (she/they) is a poet and visual artist from Memphis, Tennessee, and a recent graduate from Northwestern University (MA, MFA).

Bonus Open Access Article: Read Free Any Time!

“JazzTok: Creativity, Community, and Improvisation on TikTok” by D. Bondy Valdovinos Kaye (Vol. 6, Iss. 2)

Digital platforms provide many avenues for musicians to organize, share information, and collaborate on projects remotely, though some crucial aspects, like jazz improvisation, are harder to substitute online. Amid various other methods to facilitate digital performances, some musicians are experimenting with improvisation on short video platforms, such as TikTok. This article presents a case study of JazzTok, a digital collective of musicians who create and share jazz arrangements, recorded and edited by members of the community remotely on TikTok.

Recent Special Issues

Typically, special issues curated by guest editors are released as each fall issue of the journal. Proposals for special issues may be submitted at any time by email to the journal’s editorial assistant (pittjazz@pitt.edu). 

• Jazz Publics in Southeast Asia (Volume 7, Issue 2, Fall – Winter 2024)
• Jazz Across Screen Media: Representation, Rearrangement, and Reperformance (Volume 6, Issue 2, Fall – Winter 2023) 
• Nocoastjazz (Volume 5, Issue 2, Fall – Winter 2022)
• “Jazz” in the Present Tense (Volume 4, Issue 2, Fall – Winter 2021)
• The Power of Geri Allen (Volume 3, Issue 2, Fall – Winter 2020) — Plus, here’s a sneak peek! The forthcoming Spring/Summer issue, Volume 9, Issue 1, will be an opportunity to go further into the topic, with The Power of Geri Allen, Vol. 2, edited by Michael C. Heller and Yoko Suzuki. Follow the University of Illinois Press on social media for updates when the issue is released. Or, if you’d like to sign up for new issue alerts from theScholarly Publishing Collective, sign in or create an account, then select “Add Latest Issue Alert” and check the box for Jazz and Culture.

Learn More

• Individual Subscriptions can be made through the University of Illinois Press website.
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• Ready to see your work featured in Jazz and Culture? Submit original scholarly work here.
• Check out our other music journals: American Music, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, Ethnomusicology, and Music and the Moving Image.
• Listen to our podcast with contributor Dr. Siv B. Lie.