March 25, 2024

Poem: Contemplating the Moon in My 77th Year



On this day of the March Full Moon, Maria's poem "Contemplating the Moon in My 77th Year," from When the Stars Were Still Visible


As a girl, I was fascinated by the moon,
thought it was amazing in the dark Paterson sky. 
I wrote hundreds of haiku about it.
I always saw it as some reflection of my longing  
to live in a place far removed from my ordinary life.

In 1969, in married student housing at Rutgers,
I watched with my two young children, 
as Neil Armstrong on the Apollo 11 mission 
walked on the moon. It seemed 
unbelievable that these figures could be walking 
on that cratered surface. 

Today, more than fifty years later, I read 
that the moon is drifting away from the earth.
Did you know that the dark side of the moon is a myth?

Now, the moon has become a symbol for what is left 
of my life, all those craters that trip us up so often,
so we’re unable to walk without falling,
like the other day, when I waited for almost an hour 
for someone to pick me up off the porch where I had fallen.

I must accept that the landscape of old age is like the surface 
of the moon. It has so many places to fall. 
As a girl, I made up stories about its cratered surface, 
the faces I imagined lived in it.
I watched those astronauts on the moon, weightless in their space suits. 
What did I know? I thought life would be easy
and I would walk across it sure and strong;
instead now this shuffling gait.
I'd like to be weightless 
like the men in their space suits. 
No more broken bones.
No more pitfalls. No more grief. 

Moon, each day, you wear a different face.
I still imagine you speak to me. 
And you do, but the words I hear
cannot save me; it is your beauty, 
as you skim across the night sky,
that lifts me up.






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 Shadowand 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.

March 22, 2024

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.

https://italianamericanpodcast.com/iap-313-silk-city-sonnets-maria-mazziotti-gillan-on-italian-american-verse-and-vitality/

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



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 Shadowand 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.

March 19, 2024

Paterson Poetry Prize Reading and Workshops with Joshua Bennett and Tom Sleigh April 6

Saturday April 6 will be the 2023 Paterson Poetry Prize Winners reading with Joshua Bennett & Tom Sleigh. The reading is free and open to the public and begins at 1 pm at the Poetry Center at PCCC in Paterson, NJ. The poets will lead poetry workshops that morning. Registration is required for either workshop.

Information on the workshops.
Information on the reading and location.


Joshua Bennett of Braintree, MA, and Tom Sleigh of Brooklyn, NY, won the 2023 Paterson Poetry Prize. Bennett won for The Study of Human Life (Penguin Books, New York, NY), and Sleigh won for The King’s Touch: Poems (Graywolf Press, Minneapolis, MN). 



Joshua Bennett

Joshua Bennett is a Professor of Literature and Distinguished Chair of the Humanities at MIT. He is the author of five books of poetry, criticism, and narrative nonfiction: Spoken Word: A Cultural History (Knopf, 2023); The Study of Human Life (Penguin, 2022), which won the Paterson Poetry Prize, was longlisted for the Griffin International Poetry Prize, and is currently being adapted for television in collaboration with Warner Brothers Studios; Owed (Penguin, 2020), a finalist for the New England Book Award; Being Property Once Myself (Harvard University Press, 2020), winner of the MLA’s William Sanders Scarborough Prize, and The Sobbing School (Penguin, 2016), winner of the National Poetry Series and a finalist for an NAACP Image Award.  Bennett earned his Ph.D. in English from Princeton University, and an M.A. in Theatre and Performance Studies from the University of Warwick, where he was a Marshall Scholar. He has recited his original works at the Sundance Film Festival, the NAACP Image Awards, and President Obama’s Evening of Poetry and Music at the White House. For his creative writing and scholarship, Joshua has received fellowships and awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Whiting Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Society of Fellows at Harvard University. Alongside his friend and colleague, Jesse McCarthy, he is the founding editor of Minor Notes, a Penguin Classics book series dedicated to minor poets within the black expressive tradition. He lives in Massachusetts with his family. 

 Tom Sleigh  (Photo: Annette Hornischer)

Tom Sleigh is the author of eleven books of poetry including the winner of the 2023 Paterson Poetry Prize, The King’s Touch (Graywolf Press, 2022), House of Fact, House of Ruin (Graywolf Press, 2018), Station Zed (Graywolf Press, 2015), and Army Cats (Graywolf Press, 2011). His most recent book of essays, The Land Between Two Rivers: Writing In an Age of Refugees (Graywolf Press, 2018) recounts his time as a journalist in the Middle East and Africa. He has been a Guggenheim Fellow, NEA grant recipient, and winner of numerous awards including the Kingsley Tufts Award, Shelley Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America, John Updike Award, and Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His poems appear in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Threepenny Review, Poetry, The Southern Review, Harvard Review, Raritan, The Common, and many other magazines. He is a Distinguished Professor in the MFA Program at Hunter College and lives in Brooklyn, NY.

March 13, 2024

Laura Boss Narrative Poetry Award Reading March 16


Clockwise from top left: Levine, Mills, Hyland, Webb, Kennedy-Nolle, Lubarsky


The Winner & Finalists Reading and Book Launch for the 2023 Laura Boss Narrative Poetry Award will be held at the Poetry Center at PCCC in Paterson, NJ on Saturday, March 16, 2024. The winner and finalists are all scheduled to read at this event. 

The winner is Miriam Levine of Concord, NH. Her collection, Forget About Sleep, was published this month by NYQ Books as part of the award. 

The five finalists and their manuscript titles are Emily Hyland, Divorced Business Partners;  Nancy Lubarsky, Truth to the Rumors; Stephen S. Mills, We Will Always Be Perverts; Sharon Kennedy-Nolle, Not Waving, and Sean Webb, Disappointment Awaits.

Miriam Levine's Forget about Sleep portrays the gifts and perils of aging as she remembers lost lovers, friends, and beloved family, and it celebrates treasured places and the near and dear still alive. These bold poems of sensual and spiritual life move from gritty Northern New Jersey to New England and Florida, from interior spaces to landscapes and the gardens she tends.


Miriam Levine is the author of five previous books of poetry and three books of prose. Her honors include the Autumn House Poetry Prize. A fellow of the NEA, and grantee of the Massachusetts Artists Foundation, Levine is Professor emerita at Framingham State University and lives in Florida and New Hampshire. You may find more information about her work at miriamlevine.com


March 10, 2024

April In-person Poetry Weekend Intensive with Maria Gillan and Kevin Carey



There will be an in-person Poetry Weekend Intensive with Maria Gillan and Kevin Carey April 19 – 21, 2024 at Mendham, NJ.  

Held at an English Manor House in Mendham, St Marguerite’s Retreat House is on 93 acres of wooded land with pathways for exploring the property. This serene, beautiful setting is perfect for contemplating nature and nurturing the creative spirit.

This poetry weekend intensive is open to all writers over the age of 18.

Begins 5 p.m. Friday, April 19 and ends 1:30 p.m. Sunday, April 21, 2024

The purpose of this retreat is to give poets the 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 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.



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 Shadowand 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.

Kevin Carey is the Coordinator of Creative Writing at Salem State University. He has published
three books of poetry, The One Fifteen to Penn Station (2012), Jesus Was a Homeboy (2016) which was an Honor book for the Paterson Literary Prize, and Set in Stone (2020) all from CavanKerry Press. He
has co-directed & co-produced two documentaries about poets, All That Lies Between Us and
Unburying Malcolm Miller.  see kevincareywriter.com