Maria Mazziotti Reading at Seton Hall University

On September 24, 2019, the Charles and Joan Alberto Italian Studies Institute at Seton Hall University present a reading by poet Maria Mazziotti Gillan.

Gillan attended Seton Hall University and New York University graduating with an M.A. in Literature and then received her Ph.D. from Drew University.

Maria's papers have been archived in Seton Hall's digital preservation system. The Gillan papers are among the first to be hosted at the university and made available to researchers using this system. This collection dates from 1985 to 2013 and documents the activities of poet and program director Gillan as a professor, program director, editor, and writer of numerous publications and colleges. The collection comprises correspondence, photographs, newsletters, newspaper clippings, and magazines. This collection will prove valuable for researchers interested in the work of Italian-American women in literature.

Also reading at this event was translator Carla Francellini who has written extensively on Gillan's poetry and presented a current paper about Gillan's poetry.

Professor Francellini teaches Anglo-American literature at the University of Rome and at the University of Siena where she also teaches in the Editing and Literary Translation Master’s Program.

Professor Francellini was a guest of Maria
on this visit to the United States.

While she is in the U.S., Professor Francellini will also be working in the Monsignor William Noe Field Archives, researching using Gillan’s collection at the University which includes physical papers and archives of Maria's blog and website.

This Italian Scholarship Event for the Alberto Italian Studies Institute was established in 2003 to coordinate Seton Hall University's many activities relating to Italian American history and culture, to sponsor cultural events, and to promote curriculum development and community outreach.

---

---

Maria Mazziotti Gillan's most recent books are the poetry and photography collection, Paterson Light and Shadow  and the poetry collection, What Blooms in Winter. Her collection of poems paired with some of her paintings is The Girls in the Chartreuse Jackets. Her new artist website is at MariaMazziottiGillan.com. Maria's poetry website is MariaGillan.com.

---

Paterson Literary Review Reading and Art Reception November 2 in Paterson

On Saturday, November 2, the Distinguished Poets Series of the Poetry Center at PCCC will celebrate the publication of the Paterson Literary Review (PLR), issue # 47. This free event features readings by contributors to this issue, including Laura Boss, Linda Hillringhouse, and many others.

Join the Poetry Center in celebrating 40 years of publishing the Paterson Literary Review (PLR) with a reading featuring many contributors to issue #47.  PLR features unpublished work by well-known writers, as well as by writers whose work is so good it should be better known.  Poems from PLR have appeared in Best American Poetry and the Pushcart Prize Anthologies.  PLR has been chosen by the Library Journal, as one of the ten best literary journals in the country, and, in 2008, PLR was chosen as the best journal by the Montserrat Review.

Prior to the reading, the PCCC Art Galleries will host a reception for "The Infinite: Arch and Line" exhibit by Paterson artist, Anna Carina Sinocchi. Sinocchi’s works combine photographic processes with oil paint and drawing media. Please come from 12-1 PM and meet the artist in the Hamilton Club Gallery on the second floor.

The Hamilton Club building is located at 32 Church Street in downtown Paterson. The building is wheelchair accessible. Other services, including large print materials and FM assistive listening devices, are available on request. Parking is at the Passaic County Community College parking lot on College Blvd., between Memorial Drive and Church Street. For further information, contact the Poetry Center at sdesai@pccc.edu or (973) 684-6555 or visit www.poetrycenterpccc.com

The Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College has been awarded several Citations of Excellence, named a Distinguished Arts Project and is funded, in part, by a grant from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Maria Gillan Reading in Boston October 26

The Italian American Writers Association (IAWA) Boston presents Maria Mazziotti Gillan and Maria Lisella on Saturday, October 26, from 6-8 pm.  The reading will be held at I AM Books, 189 North Street, North End, Boston.

An open mic will follow the featured readers.

---

---

Maria Mazziotti Gillan's most recent books are the poetry and photography collection, Paterson Light and Shadow  and the poetry collection, What Blooms in Winter. Her collection of poems paired with some of her paintings is The Girls in the Chartreuse Jackets. Her new artist website is at MariaMazziottiGillan.com. Maria's poetry website is MariaGillan.com.

---

Maria Mazziotti Gillan Included in 'What Save Us' Anthology

Maria Mazziotti Gillan is one of the esteemed poets included in a new 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 about the President. These are poems that either embody or express a sense of empathy or outrage, both prior to and following his election.

Maria's two poems, "Daddy We Called You" and "I Want to Write a Poem to Celebrate" fit into the immigrant experience described by the diversity of 92 voices in the book. Some of the poets included are 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.

These are the poetry of persecuted and scapegoated immigrants that bear witness to violence, police brutality and mass shootings in a school or synagogue. But beyond grievances, we also read poems that look to build bridges. One poet steps up to translate in Arabic at the airport; another declaims a musical manifesto after the hurricane that devastated his island; another evokes a demonstration in the street, an ecstasy of defiance, the joy of resistance.

Martín Espada will have a conversation about What Saves Us with Bill Ayers
sponsored by the University of Chicago on November 2, 2019. (event info)
Contributors Tara Betts, Benjamin Balthaser, Tarfia Faizullah, Ruth Goring, Paul Martínez Pompa, Marty McConnell, Lauren Schmidt and Mark Turcotte
will join editor Martín Espada for this special Chicago-area book launch.

---

---

Maria Mazziotti Gillan's most recent books are the poetry and photography collection, Paterson Light and Shadow  and the poetry collection, What Blooms in Winter. Her collection of poems paired with some of her paintings is The Girls in the Chartreuse Jackets. Her new artist website is at MariaMazziottiGillan.com. Maria's poetry website is MariaGillan.com.

---

A December Poetry Weekend Retreat

Poets Maria Mazziotti Gillan and Laura Bossinvite you to join them WRITING YOUR WAY HOME for a poetry intensive weekend December 13 - 15, 2019 at an English manor house in Mendham, New Jersey. St Marguerite’s Retreat House is situated on 93 acres of wooded land with pathways for exploring the property. This serene, beautiful setting is perfect for nurturing the creative spirit.

The purpose of this retreat is to give poets space and time to focus on their writing away from the pressures and distractions of everyday life. Participants will draft poems in the workshops and should bring paper or a notebook, pens, and the willingness to take risks. Please also bring previously-written work for one-on-one critiquing sessions and for group readings.

At this retreat, poets will find:
• support and encouragement;
• stimulating writing exercises/prompts leading to the creation of new work;
• workshop leaders who are actively engaged in the writing life;
• opportunities to read their work aloud to the group;
• a community of writers and networking opportunities.

Fifteen professional development credits can be granted for the weekend.
This poetry weekend intensive is open to all writers over the age of 18.

The retreat begins 5 p.m. Friday, December 13 and ends 1:30 p.m. Sunday, December 15

The location is the Manor House at the convent of Saint John the Baptist, 82 West Main Street, Mendham, NJ.

Poetry Weekend Intensive Schedule:

Friday: Please arrive by 5 PM and settle into your rooms. After dinner, we will break into two groups (about 12 to 15 in each), where we will have the opportunity to write poetry and share the work we’ve just written.

Saturday: After breakfast, we will break into two groups for morning workshops. Lunch will be served, followed by one afternoon workshop and either free time or a critiquing session with the poet faculty. Interested participants can sign up in advance (at the retreat house) and may bring previously written, typed work for feedback. After dinner, there will be an additional workshop.

On Friday and Saturday evenings, the two groups will come together and we will share something written on the weekend or previously.

Sunday, December 15, 2019: Breakfast followed by a workshop. A final reading by participants will serve as the “closing ceremony” to what we hope will be an inspiring and productive weekend. Lunch will offer another opportunity for socializing and networking.

Fee:
Deposit  — October 15, 2019-----------$300
Balance  — November 15, 2019 -------$125
Total ---------------------------------------$425

*Total fee includes room, meals, and workshops.
*Early Bird Discount: deduct $25 if paid in full by November 1, 2019.
*Full refund will be given prior to March 15, 2018.
*Late registration will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Make check payable to Maria Mazziotti Gillan and mail to 40 Post Ave., Hawthorne, NJ 07506

Other questions? Email mgillan31240@gmail.com

Laura Boss is a first-place winner of PSA’s Gordon Barber Poetry Contest. Founder and editor of the Lips poetry journal. She is the recipient of three NJSCA Poetry Fellowships, and in June 2011 received the first International Poetry Award at the International Poetry Festival in Swansea, Wales. Her books include: Reports from the Front (CCC), Arms: New and Selected Poems and Flashlight (both Guernica). She co-edited with John Gallaher, Time Is a Toy: Selected Poems of Michael Benedikt (University of Akron, 2014). Her most recent book of poems is The Last Lover (NYQ, 2017).
Visit her website laurabosspoet.wordpress.com

Maria Mazziotti Gillan is the winner of the 2014 George Garrett Award for Outstanding Community Service in Literature from AWP, the 2011 Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award from Poets & Writers, and the 2008 American Book Award for her book, All That Lies Between Us. She is the Founder/Executive Director of the Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College, editor of the Paterson Literary Review, and starting September 2018, has been appointed a Bartle Professor at Binghamton University—SUNY and Professor Emerita of English and creative writing. Maria Mazziotti Gillan's most recent books are the poetry and photography collection, Paterson Light and Shadow  and the poetry collection, What Blooms in Winter. Her collection of poems paired with some of her paintings is The Girls in the Chartreuse Jackets. Her new artist website is MariaMazziottiGillan.com. Maria's poetry website is MariaGillan.com.

---

Poets Molly Peacock and Rachel Wiley To Read in Paterson Saturday October 5

The Distinguished Poets Series of the Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College is presenting a reading by Molly Peacock and Rachel Wiley on Saturday, October 5, 2019. The reading will take place at 1 p.m. at the historic Hamilton Club Building, 32 Church Street, in downtown Paterson.

Poetry workshops, conducted by Peacock and Wiley are 10 a.m. to noon at the same location (pre-registration required; workshop fee $20.00). Parking is available at the PCCC parking lot on College Blvd., between Memorial Drive and Church Street. The program is free and an open reading follows. Visit www.poetrycenterpccc.com for more details.

Molly Peacock is the author of seven books of poetry, including The Analyst and Cornucopia: New and Selected Poems from W.W. Norton. Her poems appear in leading literary journals such as Poetry and The Hudson Review and are anthologized in The Oxford Book of American Poetry. Peacock was co-creator of Poetry in Motion on New York City’s subways and buses and inaugurated The Best Canadian Poetry series. She is also the author of the noted biography The Paper Garden: Mrs. Delany Begins Her Life’s Work at 72, named a Book of the Year by The Economist, Booklist, The London Evening Standard, and The Irish Times. She wrote and performed “The Shimmering Verge,” an Off-Broadway one-woman theatre piece in poems, and is a subject in the documentaries A Life Outside Convention and My So-Called Selfish Life, about women’s choices not to have children.

Rachel Wiley is a queer, biracial poet, performer, feminist, and fat liberationist from Columbus, Ohio. She is a fellow and faculty member of the Pink Door Writing Retreat held each year in Rochester, New York, for women and nonbinary writers of color. Her poetry collection, Nothing is Okay, was published in March 2018 by Button Poetry and spent time as Amazon’s #1 Gay & Lesbian Poetry Collection, and a full-length collection of poems, Fat Girl Finishing School, was published by Timber Mouse Press. She has a degree in Theatre Studies and has competed in multiple National Poetry Slam Competitions. Her work has been featured by the Huffington Post, Everyday Feminism, Frigg Magazine, Drunken Boat, and Nailed Magazine.



The Hamilton Club Building is wheelchair accessible; large print materials and FM assistive listening devices available on request. The Poetry Center at PCCC is funded, in part, by a grant from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.