Maria Gillan at the Dodge Poetry Festival - Jersey Arts

The Dodge Poetry Festival is the largest poetry event in North America. Paterson-based poet Maria Mazziotti Gillan was a featured reader at the four-day festival in October 2018 in Newark, NJ. 

Maria is the force behind the Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College, and the author of more than 20 books of and about poetry. Her poems are about her life, including her strong memories of childhood in Paterson’s Italian immigrant community. She likes to talk about the “cave,” that place of memories and feelings inside us all that the best poetry takes us back to. 

Producer Susan Wallner spoke to Maria Mazziotti Gillan at her home in Hawthorne, a suburb of Paterson.

The Jersey Arts Podcast covers New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.Discover Jersey Arts was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

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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.

Soothsayer, Healer, Tale-teller

From Joe McHugh's American Family Stories podcast series, here is an audio story by Maria Mazziotti Gillan.

Maria tells the story of the courtship of her father and mother which began in San Mauro, Italy and brought them to Paterson, New Jersey.The focus in this story is her mother, Angelina, who Maria described in a poem as ''Soothsayer, Healer,Tale-teller / There was nothing you could not do.''

Click this link to listen to the interview and a poem Maria wrote about her mother as a tribute after her death. 

Angelina Schiavo Mazziotti

Further Reading - an article in The New York Times about Maria finding her heritage and her voice. 

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Maria Mazziotti Gillan's new 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 which pairs her poems with her paintings. Maria's artist's website is MariaMazziottiGillan.com and her poetry website is MariaGillan.com.

Silk City Sonnets with Maria Mazziotti Gillan

Join us for a heartfelt journey through the intricate landscape of cultural identity and generational heritage as we sit down with the esteemed Italian American Poet, Artist, and Professor Maria Mazzotti-Gillan. Listen in as Professor Gillan shares her evocative poetry and personal stories at the Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College, painting a vivid picture of the Italian immigrant’s struggle to assimilate into American society. Together, we unpack the complex emotions tied to our ancestors’ sacrifices, the shame and pride of our immigrant roots, and the delicate balance of preserving tradition while embracing a new national identity.

Reflect on the meaning of the American Dream from an Italian American perspective as we embark on an exploration of the powerful influence that family, culture, and art have on our sense of self.  We uncover the strength found in balancing one’s heritage with the pressures to assimilate, and how these dynamics shape our self-identification. 

This episode is an invitation to become part of an ongoing conversation, ensuring that the rich cultural contributions of Italians are remembered, respected, and cherished for generations to come.

Listen to the podcast

italianamericanpodcast.com/silk-city-sonnets...

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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 on Rattlecast

While some of us are on a Thanksgiving holiday weekend break, this week we will feature some archived interviews with Maria available online.
This link is to Spotify but these podcasts may be available on other platforms as well.

The Rattlecast livestreams on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, then becomes an audio podcast. Find it on iTunes, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.

Maria Mazziotti Gillan is interviewed.

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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.

Paterson Literary Review Reading 2024

A reading by poets included in the Paterson Literary Review Issue #52 for 2024. 

This event was the first at The Poetry Center at PCCC for the 2024-2025 season. 

Please see the schedule of upcoming readings and workshops, and subscribe to the growing archive of past poetry events on our YouTube Channel.

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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.