The Poetry Center offers poetry writing workshops in-person and virtually in conjunction with the Distinguished Poets Reading Series. Over the years, distinguished poets have included poet laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, Inaugural poets and others of national and international reputation, such as Allen Ginsberg, William Stafford, Amiri Baraka, Lucille Clifton, Stanley Kunitz, Billy Collins, Marge Piercy, Mark Doty, Marie Howe, Kim Addonizio, Billy Collins, Dorianne Laux, Robert Sward, Patricia Smith, Martín Espada, Toi Derricotte and Richard Blanco.
The first event of the new season will be on December 6, 2025, and feature Martín Espada and Dante Di Stefano.
In-person workshops will be held in Academic Hall on the PCCC main campus. Afterwards, we invite you to join us for an hour of socializing and refreshments in the nearby Paterson Room. Readings by Martín and Dante will also take place in the Paterson room at 1 pm. After which, there will be a book signing by the Distinguished Poets, and the mic will open up for anyone who wants to share their poetry.
All readings are free and open to the public. Readings are recorded and archived for viewing on the Poetry Center’s YouTube channel.
There is limited enrollment, and workshops generally fill up, so register early. For full information, open the registration form link below. Check on registration availability by emailing Cynthia Pagan at the Poetry Center.
Martín Espada’s new book of poems from Knopf is called Jailbreak of Sparrows. His previous book of poems, Floaters, won the National Book Award. He has received the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, the Shelley Memorial Award, a Letras Boricuas Fellowship, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He teaches at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
Dante Di Stefano is the author of five poetry collections and a chapbook, including, most recently, the book-length poem, The Widowing Radiance (Bordighera Press, 2025). His writing has appeared in American Poetry Review, Best American Poetry 2018, Poem-a-Day, Prairie Schooner, The Writer’s Chronicle, and elsewhere. He has won the Auburn Witness Poetry Prize, the Manchester Poetry Prize (UK), the Thayer Fellowship in the Arts, and many more awards. He co-edited the anthology Misrepresented People (NYQ Books, 2018). He teaches high school English in Endicott, NY, and lives in Endwell, New York, with his wife, Christina, their daughter, Luciana, their son, Dante Jr., and their goldendoodle, Sunny.
The college is limiting the number of attendees for all the events, so registration is required and limited for workshops. Everyone visiting the Poetry Center for workshops and readings should be vaccinated. Coffee, tea, and a light breakfast will be provided for workshop participants.
Poets will give a poetry reading following their workshop.
Directions and parking information
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.
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