December 12, 2024

Tribute: Bill Pascrell

Bill Pascrell Jr., the spirited and devoted congressman from New Jersey, passed away in 2024 at the age of 87, leaving a profound legacy of public service and passion for his community. Born and raised in Paterson, Pascrell embodied the resilient spirit of his hometown throughout his life, from his early days as a public school teacher to his tenure as mayor and later as a 14-term representative in Congress.

Pascrell was known for his fiery speeches, dedication to working-class families, and advocacy for his district, which included diverse communities in Bergen, Hudson, and Passaic counties. A champion of healthcare reform, labor rights, and veterans' services, he also played a key role in restoring the state and local tax deductions that benefited New Jersey families. His ability to bridge divides and tackle contentious issues earned him respect on both sides of the aisle.

Beyond politics, Pascrell was a proud veteran, a lifelong baseball enthusiast, and a steadfast supporter of public education. His vibrant personality and unwavering commitment to service endeared him to his constituents and colleagues alike. His passing marks not just the loss of a leader, but also the loss of a steadfast advocate for the people of New Jersey and the values of community and perseverance.

 

Bill was a longtime supporter of Passaic County Community College and the Poetry Center and a friend of Maria Gillan. Maria says:

Bill Pascrell was the longest serving member of the House of Representatives when he left us in August. Previous to his time in Washington, DC, he served as the mayor of Patterson for many years and also as representative in the New New Jersey state legislature. Clearly, he led a lifetime of service to the people of Paterson, NJ and the country.

But when I think of him, my first thoughts are about his enthusiastic support for The Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College in his beloved Paterson.

A few years ago when we had the 40th anniversary celebration for the Center, we invited him to speak. He came to the Hamilton Club and spoke about what the Center means to the city and region and how it is known far beyond New Jersey. He also surprised us by reading a poem of his own.

In his role in the legislature, he was fearless and spoke truth to power, and gave a feisty defense of the poor and the middle class. He never forgot where he came from. In the past few decades, he worked tirelessly to have the the Great Falls named a National Historic Park and to restore historic Hinchcliffe Stadium. Gratefully, he succeeded at both of those enormous projects before his passing.

Bill, we will never stop being grateful for all that you did for us and for the country. 

Archive photo of Pascrell and Gillan with Allen Ginsberg to the left
talking with students at an event at The Poetry Center






Maria Mazziotti Gillan's newest poetry collection is When the Stars Were Still Visible (2021). Other recent publications are the poetry and photography collection, Paterson Light and Shadowand the poetry collections What Blooms in Winter and The Girls in the Chartreuse Jackets, a pairing of her poems with her paintings.
Maria's artist website is MariaMazziottiGillan.com and her poetry website is MariaGillan.com.

December 10, 2024

Tribute: John Ming

The Poetry Center at PCCC lost a cherished friend and partner this past summer with the passing of John Ming. Anyone who has attended a poetry reading over the past 44 years at the Hamilton Club or in earlier venues has seen John with his video equipment recording the event.

John Ming was a longtime resident of Paterson, NJ, who made significant contributions to the community. John passed away suddenly at the age of 70 in August 2024.

He created Paterson's Public Access Channel and served as the AV Specialist for the city, managing the channel for 17 years. John was known for his dedication to the city and his passion for video and public access, overseeing programming, posting bulletins, and broadcasting Municipal Council meetings and live events.

“I am saddened by the news of the passing of my cherished friend, John Ming,” Mayor Andre Sayegh said on social media. “He was a Paterson Pioneer and a talented filmmaker. At the onset of the pandemic, we were in my office every day recording video messages reassuring residents that our city would defeat COVID-19. He will be dearly missed.”

Another side of John that was not as well known to the poetry community, is that he was also an accomplished independent filmmaker, recording artist, and author. 

He was working on a seven-part series titled "Malik Carter: Not Guilty." He was completing his mother’s book about Paterson.

John always had multiple projects he was working on, including second and third solo albums, "P-Town" and "The Romantic." He played keyboards for Full Strength Productions and Nucleus. He was at the keyboards for the band Touch of Class, which opened for The Jackson 5 during their 1976 U.S. tour.


From Maria Mazziotti Gillan

John Ming who was an enormously important part of The Poetry Center at PCCC. The videos and interviews he recorded and that we archive on our YouTube channel are a continuing reminder of his work with us.

John passed away this August. John began working with us in 1980 and quickly became an invaluable part of the poetry center team.

It is difficult for me to imagine going into the new year without John and his enthusiasm for the the poetry programs. 

John would always introduce me as his sister from another mother. John and I were born on the same day, of course many years apart, but we became good friends. He became a lover of poetry and was often moved to tears by listening to it.

He did an enormous amount of work to get ready for the readings, setting up the stage, podium, sound system and his audio and video equipment. He helped put together our new set and background to make it more interesting visually. 

After working together for so many years, it’s just difficult for me to imagine that he will not be there at our first reading this season and for the ones into 2025. Those of you who have come to the readings at the Hamilton club will remember John’s outsize personality and enthusiasm.

Dear John, I will never stop missing you and your presence at the readings. Thank you for all the work you did to help make the legacy of The Poetry Center live on.






Maria Mazziotti Gillan's newest poetry collection is When the Stars Were Still Visible (2021). Other recent publications are the poetry and photography collection, Paterson Light and Shadowand the poetry collections What Blooms in Winter and The Girls in the Chartreuse Jackets, a pairing of her poems with her paintings.
Maria's artist website is MariaMazziottiGillan.com and her poetry website is MariaGillan.com.



December 07, 2024

Maria Gillan Talks and Reads from 'When the Stars Were Still Visible'

A video from the Planet Poet-Words in Space podcast with Sharon Israel from January 2022 featuring Maria Mazziotti Gillan, poet, teacher, artist, and the visionary founder of the renowned Poetry Center at the Passaic Community College in Paterson, N.J.. 

Here she speaks and reads from her new book, When the Stars Were Still Visible.

“… It is as if this book rose out of an alchemist’s compound comprised of Calabrian limestone and the cement of the back stoop on 17th Street in Paterson, New Jersey, where Mazziotti Gillan grew up. By the end of this poignant and resonant book, the poet accepts her double heritage with all its pain and obstacles and with all its beauty and grace.” 

Maria Mazziotti Gillan's newest poetry collection is When the Stars Were Still Visible (2021). Other recent publications are the poetry and photography collection, Paterson Light and Shadowand the poetry collections What Blooms in Winter and The Girls in the Chartreuse Jackets, a pairing of her poems with her paintings. Maria's artist website is MariaMazziottiGillan.com and her poetry website is MariaGillan.com.




December 06, 2024

Maria Gillan on The Story Talks Back Podcast

Maria Mazziotti Gillan is a world-renowned poet, editor, and visual artist; but when she met the late poet Ruth Lisa Schechter, she was a "typical Italian housewife" who was just beginning her journey as a writer.

In this excerpt from a TSTB tribute to Schechter (a panel discussion with Gillan, poet Maureen Seaton, and Schechter's son Bill) she describes her fateful first visit to Schechter's home in Croton-on-Hudson, New York. 





Maria Mazziotti Gillan's newest poetry collection is When the Stars Were Still Visible (2021). Other recent publications are the poetry and photography collection, Paterson Light and Shadowand the poetry collections What Blooms in Winter and The Girls in the Chartreuse Jackets, a pairing of her poems with her paintings.
Maria's artist website is MariaMazziottiGillan.com and her poetry website is MariaGillan.com.

December 05, 2024

Poetry Workshops and Readings with Saida Agostini and Marie Howe

The Poetry Center at PCCC offers readings as part of its Distinguished Poets Series. In-person readings begin at 1 PM in the Hamilton Club in Paterson NJ (directions to Hamilton Club). All readings are free and open to the public.

The Poetry Center offers poetry writing workshops in conjunction with the Distinguished Poets Reading Series that are held from 10am-12pm. Pr-registration is required. 

The first reading in the 2024-25 Series will be held Saturday, December 7

 


Saida Agostini is a queer Afro-Guyanese poet whose work explores how Black folks harness mythology to enter the fantastic. Her work is featured or forthcoming in the Academy of American Poets’ Poem a Day, Poet Lore, Plume, amongst others. Saida’s work can be found in several anthologies, including Not Without Our Laughter: Poems of Humor, Sexuality and Joy Her first full length collection let the dead in was released by Alan Squire Publishing (March 2022). A Cave Canem Graduate Fellow, Saida is a two-time Pushcart Prize Nominee and Best of the Net Finalist. She lives online at www.saidaagostini.com.

 


Marie Howe is the author of five volumes of poetry, New and Selected PoemsMagdalene: PoemsThe Kingdom of Ordinary Time; The Good Thief; and What the Living Do, and she is the co-editor of a book of essays, In the Company of My Solitude: American Writing from the AIDS Pandemic. Her poems have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Poetry, Agni, Ploughshares, Harvard Review, and The Partisan Review, among others. She has been a fellow at the Bunting Institute at Radcliffe College and a recipient of NEA and Guggenheim fellowships, and Stanley Kunitz selected Howe for a Lavan Younger Poets Prize from the American Academy of Poets. In 2015, she received the Academy of American Poets Poetry Fellowship which recognizes distinguished poetic achievement. From 2012-2014, she served as the Poet Laureate of New York State.