Arnold "Poet" Jackson

Poet, played by muMs da Schemer, is a fictional character in the HBO series Oz.

Prisoner #96J352. Convicted February 15, 1996 - Armed robbery, attempted murder, possession of a deadly weapon. Sentence: 16 years, eligible for parole in nine. Granted early release in 1998. Returned as inmate #98J448, convicted July 20, 1998, on one count of 2nd degree murder. Sentence: 26 years, eligible for parole in 19.

Poet is a heroin addict imprisoned for armed robbery and attempted murder. He composes and recites free verse poetry and regularly practices and performs in front of other inmates. He gets paroled early with the help of Kareem Saïd and Tim McManus. His freedom is short-lived, however, as he soon kills a drug dealer who came after him to collect the money he owed. When back in prison, he becomes a full-fledged member of the Homeboy gang, often acting as the second in command to whoever is in charge.

Poet is one of the most incompetent members of the Homeboys, as he relies heavily on other gang members and inmates to solve problems. This is seen through Poet making little to no effort to sell drugs, and daring to get into fights only with backup from Kenny Wangler, Junior Pierce, or Reggie Rawls. Nevertheless, Poet remains as the gang's second in command throughout the series due to his intelligence and diplomacy.

Poet has a limited role in this season, often reciting poems for the other prisoners during mealtimes. His poems often reflect the social problems and political decisions which adversely affect African American men and their wider communities, as well as everyday life in prison.

Let back into Emerald City as one of the Homeboys, Poet is enrolled in the GED program in Oz. Tim McManus, the unit manager of Em City, believes Poet is very talented and gets Muslim leader Kareem Saïd to help publish his work. He dedicates one of these poems to Kareem Said and another to the graduating classmates of his GED class while in prison. Poet does very well in the GED program, finishing at the top of the class even though he is made fun of frequently by Kenny Wangler. As a result, Poet is paroled early and sells several of his poems as a known author that are published in a book 'Unheard America'. However, Poet is still a heroin addict and spends all his profits on drugs. Drug dealers come after him to collect a debt at one of his book signings during his book promotional tour and he kills one of them in self-defense. However, since Poet was carrying a weapon without a permit and shot the dealer six times while on parole, he is in violation and sent back to Oz for murder-in-the-second-degree to serve twenty-six years.

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