New Jersey

JCC Metrowest, West Orange

Yes, this is a construction photo of the new parking garage, which should done by the time of this reading! Clicking on the photo will take you to the JCC web site, with its listings of hundreds of activities.

JCC Metrowest
760 Northfield Avenue
West Orange, New Jersey
Click here for driving directions
from MapQuest.
Coming from New York City?
Community Bus Route #77 leaves from Port Authority and stops directly in front of the JCC. Purchase tickets in advance on lower level. (Bus leaves approximately 15 minutes past every hour; returns 8 minutes after the hour.)

Tuesday, February 14, 2006, 7:30 p.m.
Jewish Community Center Metrowest, West Orange
Donations Welcome

Valentine's Day Reading
Featuring Penny Harter and William J. Higginson

Open Reading to Follow*

This reading is part of the twenty-five-year continuous poetry series at the JCC Metrowest, coordinated and hosted by Marilyn Mohr.

Penny and Bill will be the featured readers. For decades, many have seen us as the Brownings of New Jersey—you remember, Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning of English poetry fame? Well come and hear what it's really like when the recent winner of the William O. Douglass Nature Writing Award and "the Clint Eastwood of American haiku" have been married for over twenty-five years.

Bill and Penny will read love poems and others, including some from one of our earliest pamphlets, a dialogue in verse called Used Poems. Newer poems will carry us through suburban life in central New Jersey and our idyllic(!) eleven years in Santa Fe, New Mexico. And, as ever, some will deal with recent joys and hard times.

*If you'd like to read in the open, please arrive early to sign up.

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Madison High School will participate in the national Poetry Out Loud competition this spring. Click on the photo to go to the web site of one of New Jersey's outstanding public high schools at http://www.madisonpublicschools.org/madisonhs/.

February 27 – March 3, 2006
Madison High School, Madison, NJ

Poetry Out Loud Residency: Penny Harter

Penny will visit several classes each day, helping students deepen their understanding of poems as they prepare for the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Competition. The competition begins at the classroom level, with winners advancing to schoolwide, and then statewide contests, and ultimately to the national finals in Washington, D.C., in May, where substantial scholarships and school prizes will be awarded. Penny's visit is coordinated by Carole Breheny, MHS English Department Chair. (Click here to see the school's description of this program.)

The Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Competition is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Foundation, and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Penny's residency in Madison is part of a statewide effort administered by Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey. For more information on the national program, see the Poetry Out Loud web site, at http://www.poetryoutloud.org/. (If you are interested in having Penny Harter visit your school to give readings and workshops, contact Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey at http://www.ptnj.org/.)

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March 13 – 16, 2006
Lincoln-Hubbard School, Summit, NJ

New Jersey Writers Project: Penny Harter

After a planning meeting with the teachers involved, Penny will visit the fifth grade classes. Using a variety of lessons she has developed over some years, she will encourage the students to write new poems each day, along with revising, editing, and sharing their work. Penny's visit is coordinated by Michelle Ehrich. (If you are interested in having Penny Harter be a poet-in-residence at your school, learn more about residencies in the New Jersey Writers Project and contact Playwrights Theatre through their web page at http://www.ptnj.org/NJWP/NJWP_B1B.htm.)

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March 20 – 23, 2006
Piscataway High School, Piscataway, NJ

Poetry Out Loud Residency: William J. Higginson & Penny Harter

Bill and Penny will visit several classes each day, helping students deepen their understanding of poems as they prepare for the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Competition. The competition begins at the classroom level, with winners advancing to schoolwide, and then statewide contests, and ultimately to the national finals in Washington, D.C., in May, where substantial scholarships and school prizes will be awarded. Bill and Penny's visit is coordinated by Chris Hamas, PHS Lit. Mag. advisor and honors English teacher, and Bob Coleman, English Department Chair. (Click here for a Poetry Out Loud overview.)

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Grandview School will host Bill as their poet-in-residence for four days. Click on the photo to visit their web page at http://ncaldwell.advsyscon.com/grandview.html.

April 3 – 6, 2006
Grandview School, North Caldwell, NJ

NJ Writers Project: William J. Higginson

Following a planning meeting with the teachers involved, Bill will visit the third grade classes. Using a variety of lessons he has developed over some years, he will encourage the students to write new poems each day, along with revising, editing, and sharing their work. His residency is coordinated by Patricia Thelander. (If you are interested in having Bill Higginson be a poet-in-residence at your school, learn more about residencies in the New Jersey Writers Project and contact Playwrights Theatre through their web page at http://www.ptnj.org/NJWP/NJWP_B1B.htm.)

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Jefferson Township Public Library
1031 Weldon Rd. Oak Ridge, NJ 07438
Phone: (973) 208-6115

Come to the Jefferson Township Public Library! Get directions on their web site at http://www.jeffersonlibrary.net/.

Tuesday, April 4, 2006, 7 p.m.
Jefferson Township Public Library, Oak Ridge, NJ
Free Admission

Celebrate National Poetry Month
with Penny Harter

. . . and National Library Week. Penny will offer a full program of poems from her recently published collection Along River Road as well as old favorites from her books Turtle Blessing, Lizard Light, and Buried in the Sky. You can read some of these poems by going to her Publications page at http://penhart.home.att.net/publications. Copies of her books will be available for purchase. Reading coordinated by Christine O'Brien.

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Want to join the crowd? Get directions to Espresso Joe's here: http://www.espresso-joes.com/42972.html. Click on the image above to go to Espresso Joe's impressive web site.

Sunday, April 9, 2006, 3:00 p.m.
Espresso Joe's, 50 West Front St., Keyport, NJ
No Cover Charge

Poetry Reading, featuring Penny Harter, William J. Higginson, and others

Come enjoy a cappuccino, latte, or other beverages and join another National Poetry Month celebration as you hear fine New Jersey poets Adele Kenny, Deborah Laveglia, and Anna Evans—along with Penny and Bill—read from their works. Also, a number of our books will be available for purchase. Reading coordinated by Alissa Pecora. (We hope you'll also take a look at the web sites featuring the work of our fellow poets, linked in the paragraph above.)

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Harrington Park School will host Penny as their poet-in-residence for four days. Click on the photo to visit their web page at http://www.hpsd.org/harringtonparksd/.

April 18 – 21, 2006
Harrington Park School

New Jersey Writers Project: Penny Harter

After a planning meeting with the teachers involved, Penny will visit the second grade classes. Using a variety of lessons she has developed over some years, she will encourage the students to write new poems each day, along with revising, editing, and sharing their work. Penny's residency is coordinated by Patricia Grantuskas. (If you are interested in having Penny Harter be a poet-in-residence at your school, learn more about residencies in the New Jersey Writers Project and contact Playwrights Theatre through their web page at http://www.ptnj.org/NJWP/NJWP_B1B.htm.)

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Images of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning. (Click them for a different pair of larger portrait photographs from 1860, including their son Pen (then about 11) and pictures of their home in Florence, on the web site of The Browning Society in London.)

Visit pages on the Academy of American Poets' web site devoted to these favorite 19th century British poets, including several of their poems:
Elizabeth: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/152;
Robert, http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/182.

Directions to the Carriage House in Fanwood: Route 22 Westbound: 2nd right past McDonald's in Watchung (across from Scotchwood Diner); at first traffic light make a left, over Route 22 (Blue Star Shopping Center will be on your right); stay right on the overpass; turn right after overpass, onto Park Ave (Snuffy's Pantagis Restaurant will be on your right). After the 4th traffic light, you are on Martine Ave., and 1/4th mile further on, note Fanwood Borough Hall on your right;at blinker turn right onto Watson Road. The Carriage House is on your right; park on right or in lot on left. Route 22 Eastbound: 1st right after overpass pass onto Park Ave (Snuffy's Pantagis Restaurant will be on your right). Follow directions above. From Garden State Parkway Exit 135: Follow traffic circle around to Central Avenue northbound (toward Westfield); stay on Central Avenue about 2.8 miles to 7th traffic light, turn left onto North Avenue. Go three traffic lights on North Avenue plus about 1/4th mile, and follow right-hand fork where it becomes Midway Avenue. At the next traffic light, take a left onto Martine Avenue; about 1/4th mile on, note Fanwood Borough Hall on your right; at blinker turn right onto Watson Road. The Carriage House is on your right; park on right or in lot on left.

Friday, April 21, 2006, 7:30 p.m. Sharp!
The Patricia M. Kuran Cultural Arts Center,
Fanwood, New Jersey
Free Admission

The Carriage House Poetry Series Presents:

The Festival of Famous Poets
Gala Costume Party and Reading
in Celebration of National Poetry Month

Dress as your favorite poet, and come read a poem of theirs in the open reading, after enjoying featured New Jersey poets doing the same. See Penny and Bill as Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning, Robert Chang as Li Bai (aka Li Po), Adele Kenny as Elizabeth I, Tom Plante as Walt Whitman, Deborah LaVeglia as Anne Sexton, Gwen Samuels as Gwendolyn Brooks, Rev. Alex D. Pinto as Gerard Manley Hopkins, Amanda Berry as Emily Dickinson, Adam Fitzgerald as Arthur Rimbaud, John McDermott as William Butler Yeats, Joe Weil as Dylan Thomas, and R. G. Rader as Lord Byron.

Poets you might come dressed as, and read from: Elizabeth Bishop, William Blake, Countee Cullen, Robert Frost, Federico Garcia Lorca, Allen Ginsberg, Denise Levertov, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Marianne Moore, Sappho, William Carlos Williams, Phillis Wheatley, or any other well-known poet, living or dead, whose work you think we'll all enjoy. Just be sure to pick a relatively short poem (no more than fifty lines), and wear a costume appropriate to your poet. Costumes are not required to attend—"Great poets need great audiences," said Walt Whitman—but will be required of all readers. (Clicking on a poet's name above takes you to a web site featuring their poems. For some, you will want your speakers turned on.) Note: Please arrive early if you wish to read. The reading will commence promptly at 7:30.

Adele Kenny, poet and Carriage House Poetry Series Director. (Click on her name to visit her personal web site.)

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Monday, April 24, 2006, 7:00 p.m.
Ocean County Library, Toms River, New Jersey
Free Admission

Celebrate National Poetry Month and
The Poets of New Jersey
From Colonial to Contemporary
with Harter, Higginson, & Others

Penny, Bill, and several other poets will read their own and additional poems from The Poets of New Jersey, the new anthology from Jersey Shore Publications. Come and enjoy some of those New Jersey poets you already know, from Philip Freneau to BJ Ward, and hear some new voices, too. Get a jump on the reading, by visiting the publisher's web site, at http://www.jerseyshorevacation.com/PONJ.htm. Who knows, maybe you'll carry your own copy into the reading for the poets to sign! (And yes, copies will be available at the reading.)

This reading organized by teaching poet Frank Finale, who is also an editor of The Poets of New Jersey. (Click on the link above to view Frank's web site.)

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Check out these web sites for more information on Tiferet: A Journal of Spiritual Literature <http://www.tiferetjournal.com/>, and "The Carriage House" aka The Kuran Cultural Arts Center <http://www.visitfanwood.com/arts/kuran.htm>. Click here for: directions to the Carriage House.

Tuesday, May 2, 2006, 8:00 p.m.
The Patricia M. Kuran Cultural Arts Center,
Fanwood, New Jersey
Free Admission

The Carriage House Poetry Series Presents:

Penny Harter and Others
in a Celebratory Reading
for Tiferet Magazine

Join Penny and other writers whose work appears in the current issue of this outstanding "Journal of Spiritual Literature."

Adele Kenny, poet and Carriage House Poetry Series Director. (Click on her name to visit her personal web site.)

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May 15 – 18, 2006
Harding Township School, New Vernon, NJ

NJ Writers Project: William J. Higginson

Following a planning meeting with the teachers involved, Bill will visit the third and fifth grade classes. Using a variety of lessons he has developed over some years, he will encourage the students to write new poems each day, along with revising, editing, and sharing their work. His residency is coordinated by Roe Bowden. (If you are interested in having Bill Higginson be a poet-in-residence at your school, learn more about residencies in the New Jersey Writers Project and contact Playwrights Theatre through their web page at http://www.ptnj.org/NJWP/NJWP_B1B.htm.)

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May 21, 2006, 1 – 5 p.m.
West Caldwell Public Library
30 Clinton Ave., West Caldwell, NJ
Free Admission

Penny Harter and 25 Others at
Poetry Festival:
A Celebration of New Jersey's Literary Journals

Twenty-six poets will read from their works at this festival featuring some thirteen New Jersey and nearby literary magazines — whose editors will be on hand, selling copies of their latest issues. In addition, copies of the poets' most recent books will be on sale. This is the main event for discovering the wonderful flowering of literary magazines in our region, and getting to know the work of many of its finest poets.

For directions to the library, visit their web page at: http://www.bccls.org/westcaldwell/location_directions_pg.htm

For more on the program, visit Diane Lockward's special web page: http://hometown.aol.com/dslockward/myhomepage/club.html

Festival organized by teaching poet Diane Lockward. Visit her web site at http://www.dianelockward.com/