William J. Jackson Weaves Culture, Myth, and Meaning Across Fiction and Scholarship
PHOTO: Author William J. Jackson at home in the Connecticut River Valley, where he continues to write, reflect, and create visionary collages.
Bridging Worlds Through Story, Symbol, and Spirit
William J. Jackson discusses blending fiction and scholarship, exploring Indian Bhakti traditions, visual archetypes, and generosity, while reflecting on a life enriched by culture, teaching, spiritual insight, and creative freedom.
William J. Jackson is a rare kind of writer—one who bridges continents, centuries, and genres with both intellectual rigor and artistic imagination. His work is at once scholarly and soul-stirring, deeply rooted in cultural understanding yet soaring with lyrical vision. Whether exploring the devotional songs of South Indian saints or crafting vivid characters in novels set by the Mississippi or Kaveri rivers, Jackson writes with the insight of a philosopher, the heart of a storyteller, and the eye of an artist.
His books—ranging from Tyagaraja and the Renewal of Tradition to Gypsy Escapades and The Wisdom of Generosity—are vibrant tapestries where history, spirituality, humor, and humanity are skillfully interwoven. Readers step into his stories and studies not as passive observers but as fellow seekers, drawn into a world alive with archetypes, music, mystery, and meaning. A lifelong student of religion, language, and the creative process, Jackson continues to challenge conventions while inviting us to see more deeply and generously.
In this interview, William J. Jackson shares reflections on his unique literary journey—across genres, cultures, and decades—and offers rich insight into how lived experience, spiritual inquiry, and artistic passion can shape a truly original voice in contemporary literature.
A visionary writer and scholar, Jackson masterfully unites intellect and imagination to illuminate human experience across cultures, genres, and generations.
What inspired you to blend humor, history, and suspense in Gypsy Escapades?
The same things that naturally led me to blend philosophy, culture and adventure—my personal background experiences and Midwest American small-town life and Catholic traditions. In my twenties I learned valuable lessons from 4 spheres: Theatre, NYC Bohemia, south India, and Academia. By my forties I was a professor and researcher. By the time I wrote Gypsy Escapades I was nearing retirement from teaching. Various flavors and feelings, moods and atmospheres are needed to make long stories palatable and irresistible. In my twenties I had nothing to say. But over the decades I became multifaceted, more able to wield different kinds of experience.
How did your time in India shape your understanding of the Bhakti traditions you explore in your scholarly works?
Six months in India in 1970 at age 27, living in a rural village, volunteering at a School for the Blind, singing bhajans and reading inspiring books, experiencing ashram life— gave me a fresh start.
Living in India in 1980-2 for PhD research deepened me. I delved into India’s history, gathered information interviewing musicians and singers, comparing saints’ biographies and legends, translating Telugu to English sitting beside a pandit. In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras classic it is said that “Illumination is also attained by devotion to God.”
“Poetic thinking cultivates intuition and observation.” — William J. Jackson
In Tyagaraja and The Renewal of Tradition, how did you approach translating the deeply spiritual songs for a modern audience?
Translating Nauka Charitram (a narrative in verses and songs written by Tyagaraja) was such a treat. It’s so delightful! Exuberant beautiful poetry music! The Gopis, lovely milkmaidens teasing child Krishna and being tricked by him, festive picnic revelries on a boat ride in the Yamuna River.
A.K. Ramanujan was a great scholar and poet. His translations of Tamil songs, and his personal presence when he visited Harvard were important to me. He showed me how to use vernacular English language, trusting the way people speak, and prizing the literal meaning. Madras University Telugu Professor G.V.S.R. Krishnamurty helped me with Telugu verse forms.
What challenges did you face when portraying real cultural elements alongside fictional intrigue in Gypsy Escapades?
The oddity of old customs in India can be jarring to modern sensibilities. India is a part of the vibrant modern world, but also a museum of ancient religious practices and arts. Fortune-telling and warding off the evil eye seem strange in the scientific world, but exploring India means leaving behind for the moment your modern presuppositions, walking in the sandals of another worldview. A scholar I knew asked: “You seem to want it both ways, both old-fashioned and scientific?” As if one-sidedness was the norm. But in India a woman in a sari can drive a motor-scooter. And Tyagaraja was called “radical conservative” because he followed strict old rules but innovated rhythmic patterns. “Eternity expresses itself through contradictions.” (W.B. Yeats.)
How do your academic studies of Indian saints influence your fiction writing style and character development?
Gandhi’s life, expressing his dedication to nonviolence and self-sacrifice, is tricky to write about in an age of egos, fashions, media and wealth. How to depict soul-searching, crisis moments of doubt and stepping up to face challenges with faith? That requires the writer to find what such moments in life are like and what kind of focus they require. Comparative Study of Religion (my PhD specialty) shows there are heroic altruistic people of wisdom and bravery to be found in all the traditions worldwide. Writing about such activists today is a worthwhile challenge. I’m working on a novel about an activist woman in harrowing circumstances.
“Only the impossible is worth pursuing.” — William J. Jackson
Can you describe the role of visual archetypal imagery in your storytelling process?
Imagination is a natural endowment, and memory can be explored and exercised as a resource, I study the great depth psychologists, Jung and Hillman. Their findings constitute a treasury of self-knowledge. The creative individual can listen to his/her own impulses for hints about the mysterious unconscious. There are many enduring stories from the past to consider when exploring the differing character temperaments and life-cycles of personality types in cultures. Mother, Trickster, struggling Hero, “Youthful Folly,” Old Man. World-wide, ancient arts of drama, literature and sculpture have their aesthetic theories. Poetic thinking cultivates intuition and observation. “Gypsy” has meant a number of things to people over the centuries. Archetypes are rich codes of information. I find them helpful.
What led you to explore the theme of generosity so extensively in The Wisdom of Generosity?
In my last last three years as university professor, I was offered a position in the Philanthropic Studies Center while still teaching Religious Studies. I worked overtime to explore that new scholarly field. I was already interested and active in service projects. I worked at a church-centered soup kitchen, cooking chili for years. I’d begun such karma-yoga work in India.
*The Wisdom of Generosity is an anthology of selected writings by various authors. The collection was compiled, edited, and introduced by William J. Jackson
How do you maintain authenticity while writing across such different genres, from scholarly translations to adventure novels?
It came to me naturally. I kept alive my storytelling interests while studying academically. I told bedtime stories each night to my daughter and I collected folk anecdotes I’d heard while living in Vermont. The historical background of south India during Tyagaraja’s lifetime was important context for my academic study Tyagaraja: Life and Lyrics, but when I found such great folk memories about him in the works of Professor P. Sambamoorthy I was inspired to also write a novel based on them (The Singer by the River). The different genres are strict, and separate. But both exist and respecting the craftsmanship each form requires helps me.
My heroes have been exemplars of “both/and” approaches to their work. I discovered Rabindranath Tagore’s work in India in 1970. He was so versatile. He could write short stories and novels, and also essays. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature for his poetry, and he composed songs which Bengali people sang in their everyday lives. Mircea Eliade wrote many books about the world’s religions, and also novels. James Baldwin was an enthralling writer of fiction and also essays on civil rights. Carl Sandberg (a fellow Illinoisan) wrote poetry and a multivolume biography of Lincoln. Morrison, LeGuin, and Oates wrote fiction and essays.
A wise person said, “Love is blind, and Thought is lame, but together they can climb the hill.”
“We need to keep learning about the cosmos and consciousness.” — William J. Jackson
What new project or topic are you most excited to work on next?
I have other Escapades I’m working on, with timely issues and international settings. Also, my great aunt Em’s life. She was a brave soul whose family lived in Colorado in Gold Rush days. She had the pioneering spirit.
What advice would you give to writers seeking to bridge scholarly research and creative writing in their own work?
A Jesuit I met in graduate school said, “Only the impossible is worth pursuing.” Is it ambitious to go deep and to go wide? After many years of being alive it seems realistic also. We need to keep learning about the cosmos and consciousness. We live in the Age of the Keyboard. It can take you anywhere. Language study is an enriching and expansive endeavor. Live and learn!
