Allen Ginsberg Poetry Awards Deadline February 1

The Allen Ginsberg Poetry Awards honoring Allen Ginsberg’s contribution to American literature and his Paterson upbringing is an annual poetry competition. The first prize is $2000, the second prize is $1000, and the third prize is $500 for a single poem.

1. Up to five unpublished poems per person will be accepted for consideration.

2. Three copies of each poem should be submitted for distribution to the judges.

3. Each poem should be no longer than two manuscript pages.

4. Pages with poems should not include the poet’s name; instead a separate cover sheet should list the poet’s name, mailing address, phone number, e-mail address, and poem titles.

5. Poems cannot be returned. Please do not submit poems that imitate Allen Ginsberg’s work. 

6. A check for $18.00 payable to PCCC must accompany the submission (write “Poetry Contest” in the memo section of the check). There is a $55 bounced check fee for checks returned for insufficient funds.

7. Deadline: February 1, 2025 (postmarked).

The winners will be announced in spring 2025.  Poems by the Winners, Honorable Mentions, and Editor's Choice recipients are included in the Paterson Literary Review (PLR), and the poets are invited to read at The Poetry Center in historic downtown Paterson.

For full contest guidelines for the 2025 Allen Ginsberg Poetry Awards (pdf) see poetrycenterpccc.com/awards 

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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 Shadow, and 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.

Tony Medina Virtual Poetry Reading January 18

The Poetry Center at PCCC offers readings and workshops as part of the Distinguished Poets Series. The first event of winter 2025 will be a virtual workshop and reading with Tony Medina on Saturday, January 18.

Workshops via Zoom will run from 1 PM to 2:30 PM (EST) and be followed by the poet’s reading from 2:30 PM to 3 PM (ET). Registration and a fee of $20 are required. See the website for registration information. 

The reading is free and open to all   Virtual Reading Link

Tony Medina        Photo by Aldon Lynn Nielsen

Tony Medina was born in the South Bronx, raised in the Throgs Neck Housing projects, and is a Veteran of the United States Army. Recently appointed Associate Chair and Director of Creative Writing in the Department of Literature and Writing at Howard University, he holds a master’s and PhD from Binghamton University, SUNY. 

A multi-genre author/editor of 25 award-winning books for adults and young people, Medina’s work appears in over 160 anthologies and journals, including “Seven Steps to Heaven Haiku” and “I’ve Got the Covid Blues,” featured in the Academy of American Poets’ Poem-a-Day. Among Medina’s recent titles are the Black Lives Matter anthology, Resisting Arrest: Poems to Stretch the Sky (anthology); Death, With Occasional Smiling (poetry); Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Boy (children’s); I Am Alfonso Jones (graphic novel); Che Che Colé (fiction); and his Gaza suite, Because the Sky (Sable Books, 2024). His other titles, Serious Trouble: Poems Selected, Poems New and Everywhere Drums: Poets from the Black Arts to Black Lives Matter (coedited with Mudiwa Pettus) as well as a hybrid collection of poetry, fiction and art, Rock the Bells: For Hip Hop @50 (tome), are forthcoming. 

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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 Shadow, and 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.

Poem: My Daughter at 14, Christmas Dance

My Daughter at 14, Christmas Dance

Panic in your face, you write questions
to ask him. When he arrives,
you are serene, your fear
unbetrayed. How unlike me you are.

After the dance,
I see your happiness; he holds
your hand. Though you barely speak,
your body pulses messages I can read

all too well. He kisses you goodnight,
his body moving toward yours, and yours
responding. I am frightened, guard my
tongue for fear my mother will pop out

of my mouth. "He is not shy," I say. You giggle,
a little girl again, but you tell me he
kissed you on the dance floor. "Once?"
I ask. "No, a lot."

We ride through rain-shining 1 a.m.
streets. I bite back words which long
to be said, knowing I must not shatter your
moment, fragile as a spun-glass bird,

you, the moment, poised on the edge of
flight, and I, on the ground, afraid.


by Maria Mazziotti Gillan, from Where I Come From: Selected and New Poems

 

Poem: When I Was Still Young

When I Was Still Young

by Maria Mazziotti Gillan

 

I remember getting up at 3 or 4 in the morning,

going down to my kitchen

and looking out the window at my neighbor’s house

or at the moon

or at the utter darkness.

That was when I could still get out of bed by myself

and not need my aide to haul me out of bed like a sack of potatoes.

I used to get up in the middle of the night and read and write.

Sometimes, when I’m in the little twin bed

in the corner of my family room where I sleep now,

I forget that I can’t get myself out of bed

and I imagine getting up and going to the kitchen

and writing poems in a notebook.

I was still in my 30s,

my children asleep upstairs in their beds,

my husband asleep in our bed,

and I downstairs in the kitchen,

those hours alone when no one needed me.

I was so relaxed and happy,

quiet wrapped all around me, dreaming

and reading those wonderful poets who kept me company:

Anne Sexton, Adrienne Rich, May Sarton.

Those women taught me how to open doors inside me

that I didn’t know were closed.

They allowed me to see a world of other women

in the kitchen alone at night

trying to find that center of peace to allow them to go on.

In that lamplit kitchen, I drank in the words of their lives

to give me the courage I needed

to scrawl poems in a notebook

and to believe that these nighttime hours meant something,

that I could shape into the art that would save me.

This poem appears this month on MER, Mom Egg Review. 
MER publishes literary work on mothers, mothering, and motherhood, in an annual print and quarterly online issues of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and art.

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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 Shadow, and 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.

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 Pascrell and Maria Gillan at The Poetry Center

 

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

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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 Shadow, and 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.