In-Person and Virtual Poetry Workshops at The Poetry Center

The Poetry Center at PCCC in Paterson, NJ offers poetry writing workshops in conjunction with the Distinguished Poets Reading Series.

There is limited enrollment and workshops generally fill up, so register early. A $20 fee which is paid to the poet is required with your registration.

These poets will give a poetry reading following their workshop. The readings are always free and open to the public.

Readings are recorded and later archived for viewing on the Poetry Center’s YouTube channel.

Bios of all the poets are available on our readings page.

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS 2024-2025

12/7/2024 Saida Agostini (Marie Howe closed)   

1/18/2025 Zoom  -  Tony Medina   

2/15/2025 Zoom  - Joshua Bennett 

3/1/2025         Nicole Cooley & Meghan O’Rourke

3/15/2025 Zoom  -  Beth Ann Fennelly  

4/5/2025         Afaa M. Weaver & Mahogany Browne

5/3/2025        Kwame Dawes & Maya C Popa 

See the Workshops page to download the registration form.

What Saves Us - Election Edition

With the election just a few days away, we remind you that Maria Mazziotti Gillan is one of the esteemed poets included in the anthology, What Saves Us: Poems of Empathy and Outrage in the Age of Trump, edited by Martín Espada. Though titled as a collection of poems in the Age of Trump, the poems are much more than poems about the time. These are poems that either embody or express a sense of empathy or outrage, both prior to and following Trump's election.

This is the poetry of persecuted and scapegoated immigrants that bear witness to violence, police brutality and mass shootings in a school or synagogue. There are grievances but there are also poems that look to build bridges. 

Maria's two poems, "Daddy We Called You" and "I Want to Write a Poem to Celebrate" as well as many of her poems fit into that immigrant experience. 

There is tremendous diversity in the 92 voices in the book that includes these poets and many others - Juan Felipe Herrera, Richard Blanco, Carolyn Forché, Patricia Smith, Robert Pinsky, Donald Hall, Elizabeth Alexander, Ocean Vuong, Marge Piercy, Yusef Komunyakaa, Brian Turner, and Naomi Shihab Nye.

Maria and her daughter, Jennifer Gillan, have also edited relevant anthologies often used in schools. Unsettling America is an Anthology of Contemporary Multicultural Poetry, Identity Lessons: Contemporary Writing About Learning to Be American, and their collection Growing Up Ethnic in America is filled with Contemporary Fiction About Learning to Be American.

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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.

Poetry Reading Saturday November 2 for the Paterson Literary Review

Join a group of poets published in the 2024 issue #52 of the Paterson Literary Review (PLR) for a reading November 2, 2024 at 1 pm at The Poetry Center at PCCC in Paterson, NJ. 

The reading is free and open to the public - as are all the readings at the Center - and will be preceded by a reception and gallery show of paintings by Maria Mazziotti Gillan and Linda Hillringhouse. in the same location. Arrive at noon for the reception and stay for the reading.

Art and Poetry in Paterson

Tomorrow, please join us at the Hamilton Club in Paterson for a reception showcasing the artwork of Maria Mazziotti Gillan and Linda Hillringhouse followed by a reading featuring contributors to the Paterson Literary Review, issue #52. 

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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.

Maria Gillan Art Sale and Closing Reception in Paterson November 3

You are cordially invited to an art sale and closing reception for On the Verge of a Story: Paintings and Collages by Linda Hillringhouse and Maria Mazziotti Gillan.

On display at the Hamilton Club Gallery, November 3, 2024. The reception will begin at 11:30. All artwork 20% off the listed price. Admission is free.

The reception and sale will be followed by a reading by poets from the latest issue of the Paterson Literary Review at 1 pm. 

Please join us for the art and poetry!

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Maria Mazziotti Gillan's newest poetry collection is When the Stars Were Still Visible (2021). Her book The Girls in the Chartreuse Jackets, is a pairing of her poems with her paintings. Maria's artist website is MariaMazziottiGillan.com and her poetry website is MariaGillan.com.