Mature Adult Poetry Workshops Online

"I’d like to talk a bit about the Mature Adults Workshops which are held virtually. I started doing them originally in person but because of the pandemic, we started doing it virtually. What I found was that while I had been afraid that it would be cold and sterile, I quickly discovered very quickly that it was not that way at all.

We’ve always had a waiting list because we had more people than we could fit in our space on the PCCC campus, soon we had people from all over the country and from other countries as well. We have people from California to New Jersey who take part in this workshop and they really begged that we keep it virtual so they can be there.

I’m not a technology person, so I was really afraid it wouldn’t work, but I have found it quite wonderful. I love the way the participants have bonded together and that we are bringing in new people."

The Mature Adults Workshop Series is held online using Zoom. This series is open to adults 50 and older. Maria Mazziotti Gillan leads each workshop in the series. There are six one-hour workshops in each series. The focus is on writing narrative poetry and sharing the work that you’ve just written in the workshop. Pre-registration is required for the entire workshop series. The fee is $90 for all six workshop sessions. Registration is by check and mail. We will take a maximum of 25 people and it will be on a first-come-first-served basis based on receiving your check in the office. So, If you want to participate in the next session, please send the registration form and check ASAP.
Full information on our WORKSHOPS page

Writing in a Supportive Space

This past week, we had the good fortune to have Jan Beatty as our visiting writer for the Mature Adults Workshop. She provided excellent prompts, read some of her poems, and gave lots and lots of encouragement to the writers in the group. She brought her energy and enthusiasm to the workshop and was kind and supportive. It was an exciting session and I got many emails extolling her virtues from people who participated. Check out her new memoir and collection of poetry.

I have to admit I miss in-person workshops and readings, but I am finding great joy in virtual workshops as well. The wonderful thing about them is that we can bring people from very far away to participate whereas in-person, we normally only recruit from New York and New Jersey. This past summer, we had someone from Vancouver, Canada, and several from California. In a couple of interviews and virtual readings I have done, I had people write to me afterward from France, Italy, Wales, and other parts of Great Britain. It’s exciting to think of how poetry connects us and how it forms bridges between us.

I fell in love with poetry when I was a very young, immigrant child. I did not speak English when I went to school. I feel great gratitude for the teachers who read aloud to us in Public School #18 in Paterson, New Jersey. They shaped the way I heard English, heard poetry and they made me want to read more and more and to write. One of the functions of the poetry center which I established officially in 1980, is that it brings poetry to people. It allows other people to enter the house of poetry with its many rooms, as Lucille Clifton said. I think poems teach us how to be human and have compassion. For me, poetry has always been a kind of salvation. I want to share it with others the way my mother shared food.

Meanwhile, until we can get back to in-person meetings, I am loving the reach of Zoom and I hope to continue to run virtual programs even when we can have in-person programs again.

We have our Distinguished Poets Series program scheduled monthly through January 2022. You can watch live and each is archived and available on our YouTube channel. These poets also offer a poetry workshop before their reading which you need to register for in advance. They are very popular, so be sure to check it out and sign up as soon as possible.

Sincerely,
Maria