J. J. Jameson

Who is J. J. Jameson?

J. J. Jameson was a self-proclaimed poet and activist in Chicago, Illinois from the mid-1980s until March 2005. His work was marked by an ironic and humorous cast. In 1993 Jameson was arrested on theft charges in Chicago.

He was known for his live performances as a poet and MC at local poetry jams and open mike nights. He also received attention for his September 1999 poetry chapbook, Lady Rutherford's Cauliflower, published by Puddin'head Press, which had been planning to publish a second volume of his work. He was known to be suffering from head tumors in early 2005. In March 2005 Jameson was named Poet of the Month by C. J. Laity of ChicagoPoetry.com chicagopoetry.com. Friends and acquaintances planned to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of his arrival in Chicago with a roast and poetry reading later in 2005.

On March 22, 2005 at 11:00 he was arrested by the Massachusetts State Police, Illinois State Police and the Massachusetts Department of Correction in Chicago at the Third Unitarian Church, where he was a member of the congregation and sometimes worked as a handyman. Porter was then transferred under armed guard to Massachusetts where he faced charges of escape from a penal institution.