New Jersey Is a Poetry State

New Jersey is a Poetry State and NJ poets Maria Mazziotti Gillan, Renée Ashley, Cat Doty, Kathleen Graber, Peter Murphy, James Richardson, Vincent Toro, BJ Ward, Joe Weil Gretna Wilkinson and three-time poet laureate Robert Pinsky shared the stage “Jersey Voices” – part of the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival programming at NJPAC, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.

They follow in the footsteps of Allen Ginsberg, William Carlos Williams (both from Paterson) and Walt Whitman in calling this Poetry State their home.

This video is from a feature story done for the program State of the Arts. It includes interviews with Maria Mazziotti Gillan and scenes from the Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College.

Maria established the Poetry Center and has led its efforts in historic Paterson for over 35 years. Like the Dodge Poetry Festival, it’s a beloved hub of the poetry world rooted in New Jersey where internationally-known poets such as Billy Collins share the spotlight with new and rising poets from New Jersey and the nation.

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Maria's Official Site is at MariaGillan.com.  Her latest publication is the poetry and art collection, The Girls in the Chartreuse Jackets.