As we head towards National Poetry Month, we want to let you know what we’re doing in New Jersey High Schools this spring. Our High School events are really exciting for us. We love bringing our Dodge Poets into the classroom, knowing that they have the capacity to spark the minds and hearts of students.
- All three High Schools in East Orange—East Orange High School; Cicely L. Tyson School of Performing and Fine Arts High School and East Orange STEM Academy High School—will host Dodge Poet Visits with Michael Cirelli, thanks to Iqua Colson and Eleanor Vick.
- Cranford High School is hosting a Dodge Poet Visit with Cat Doty, thanks to teacher Sara Sherman.
- Creative Arts High in Camden in Camden, NJ is hosting a Dodge Poet Visit with Peter Murphy, thanks to teacher Joelle Wagner-Lynch.
- Cumberland Regional High School is hosting a Mini Festival with special guest Stephen Dunn, and Dodge Poets Peter Murphy, Gretna Wilkinson and Christine Salvatore-Smith. Bob Evans, who has a long history of coordinating festivals for his school, is at the helm.
- East Brunswick High School is hosting a Mini Festival in late April. We’re working on it right now. Our faithful teachers are Laura Strachan and Audrey Nelson.
- Egg Harbor Township High School is hosting their first Mini Festival with special guest Kathleen Graber and Dodge Poets Peter Murphy, Charles Johnson and JC Todd. Thanks to English Teachers Lily Moss and Christine Salvatore-Smith.
- John F. Kennedy High School in Paterson is hosting a Dodge Poet Visit with John Murillo, thanks to teacher Melissa Margaritis.
- Millburn High School is hosting a Mini Festival with John McDermott, Christine Salvatore-Smith, and one more poet, which we’re working on now. Michelle Blakely, an English Teacher is coordinating the day.
- Millville Senior High School in Millville is hosting a Dodge Poet Visit with J.C. Todd, thanks to teacher Tara Cotton.
- Ocean County Vocational Technical High School in Lakehurst will host a Dodge Poet Visit with our Program Director Martin Farawell.
- Seneca High School in Tabernacle is hosting a Mini-Festival featuring Charles Johnson, Emari DiGiorgio, Crystal Bacon, and BJ Ward, thanks to English Department Chair John Bowden.
- Voorhees High School in Glen Gardner is hosting a Mini Festival with poets BJ Ward, Michael Cirelli, Charles Johnson, Emari DiGiorgio, Maria Gillan and Lois Harrod, thanks to Terry Leyland and Rich Broan, in the English Department.
Poet Visits and Mini-Festivals are co-sponsored according to each school’s financial need. We identify and schedule Dodge Poets, ensuring that your event is meaningful for your students.
If you think your school would like to host a Dodge Poetry event in the 2012-2013 school year, please contact us now. contact Michele Russo, Poetry Coordinator at mrusso@grdodge.org or 973-540-8442 x113.
Dodge Poet Visits and Dodge Poetry Mini-Festivals are a chance for high school students to explore poetry with accomplished, published Dodge Poets. Dodge Poets give students a way to relate to poetry that is interesting and relevant to them, and through their modeling of curiosity and discovery, encourage students to be lifelong readers and poetry lovers. Their visits do not focus on students’ writing, but rather the immersion into the art form of poetry through conversation, readings and discussions.
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Stay connected. Join our Mailing List, subscribe to our Poetry Fridays blog, friend us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @DodgePoetryFest, and visit our YouTube channel to watch videos of poets reading at past Dodge Festivals.