DODGE POETRY FESTIVAL Presents A Free Family Fun Day At NJPAC

The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation (Dodge Foundation) and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) will present the 20th Annual Dodge Poetry Festivaltaking place from Thursday, October 17– Saturday, October 19th in Newark, New Jersey.
 
This year, the festival introduces the inaugural DODGE POETRY FAMILY DAY, set to unfold at Military Park (just across from NJPAC) on Saturday, October 19th, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The festivities will encompass continuous poetry readings, pulsating music by Hot 97's DJ Wallah, captivating face painting, vibrant graffiti art, invigorating yoga sessions, rhythmic drumming, engaging drag storytelling, and a delightful array of food truck vendors.
 
The country's largest poetry festival has attracted over 150,000 attendees to enjoy readings, performances, and various events. This year's Festival promises an electrifying fusion of spoken word poetry, jazz, hip hop, and R&B at readings, performances, outdoor gatherings, and more, all crafted to ignite a sense of unity for racial and social justice, restoration, and rejuvenation.

Express yourself at Dodge Poetry Festival's Family Fun Day! Bring the kids to Military Park for free, family-friendly poetry performances. Experiment with writing your own poems and explore the joyful, liberating power of language. Sing and dance along with DJ Wallah. Enjoy drag storytelling, face painting and all-ages activities.  All are welcome at this festive
community celebration of self-expression.

Participating partners at military park include, After-School All-Stars / New Jersey, Associated Humane Societies – Newark Clean Water Fund D-Cross, EvoluCulture, GlassRoots, Karina Kelly de Oliveira Lisa Lewis, NAACP Newark, New Jersey Symphony Newark Public Library Newark Yoga Movement NJ Kids on the Go NJPAC Arts Education, NJPAC Community, Engagement, Poetry Foundation, Prudential Center / New Jersey Devils, Sheila Silva Somerset Patriots, St. Clare's Social Services, The New Jersey Historical Society, Umoja Dance Company WBGO, WNYC, Local Newark and more.

Festival highlights include:

• Opening Day of the Festival — Thursday, October 17 —  will be devoted in part to programs on artistic and professional development for poets and writers. Simultaneously, the Academy of American Poets (curators of Poem-a-Day) will present three panels on poetry's ability to invite reflection and creative reawakening, featuring the Academy Chancellors, an honorary group of esteemed poets who advise the organization on artistic matters and serve as ambassadors of poetry at large.
• That evening, the Newark-based spoken word poetry organization EvoluCulture will host a free open mic and mixer in NICO Kitchen + Bar, the restaurant on NJPAC's campus. 
• Friday, October 18 is Young Artist Day, which attracts thousands of teens and chaperones from all over the United States for in-person encounters with acclaimed poets. Events on this day are also open to the public.
• A community-driven celebration of poetry continues on Friday, October 18 and Saturday, October 19 featuring appearances by headlining writers including: poet, curator, educator, and organizer Mahogany L. Browne, the first-ever Lincoln Center poet-in-residence; National Book Critics Circle finalist Aracelis Girmay; Pulitzer Prize winner Tyehimba Jess; poet, essayist, and playwright Claudia Rankine, whose book Citizen was named one of the 100 best books of the 21st century by the New York Times; poet, activist, author, and influential Black Arts Movement figure Sonia Sanchez; acclaimed poet, playwright, and translator Afaa Michael Weaver, and more.

Additional ticketed events on Saturday, October 19 will include:

• A conversation with iconic musician and activist Joan Baez about her first book of poetry,When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance;  
• A musical performance from esteemed poet Nikki Giovanni with acclaimed tenor saxophonist Javon Jackson and eight-time Grammy Award winner and NJPAC and Newport Jazz Festival artistic advisor Christian McBride. 
• Saturday will also feature an afternoon-long free Family Fun Day @ Dodge Poetry in Newark'sMilitary Park, a first for the festival. The event will fill various corners of the park with poetry, music, face painting, drag performances, food trucks and more. Exceptional area poets will perform.

  Poets who will participate in the festival this year include: 
 
Afaa Michael Weaver; Alexis Green; Ameerah Shabazz-Bilal; Aracelis Girmay; Ariana Benson; attorious renee; Beatriz Martinez; Blas Falconer; Carlos Gomez; Carmen Calatyud; Charif Shanahan; Ching-In Chen; Cito Blank; Claudia Rankine; Cortney Lamar Charleston; Dante Micheaux; Diana Goetsch; Dianeley Antigua; Dimitri Reyes; Douglas Kearney; Dr. Craig Santos Perez; Dr. Helena D. Lewis; Eduardo Martinez-Leyva; Elliott Fant “P.O.M.E.”; Emanuel Xavier; Erin Marie Lynch; Esther Lin; Haydil Henriquez “Jaíi”; Imani Cezanne; Isabel Cruz; Issam Zineh; Italy Ja'rae Lee; J Rose; Janine Joseph; Jeri Rae; Jessica Nirvana Ram; John Murillo; Joshua Bennett; JP Howard; Kai Coggin; K. Desireé Milwood; Kathy Kremins; Kay Ulunday Barrett; Kazim Ali; Keisha-Gaye Anderson; Kween Moore; Mahogany L Browne; “King” Mariah Ayscue; Marwa Helal; Megha Sood; Myles Taylor; Nancy Mercado; Naomi Ortiz; Nicole Sealey; Niki Herd; Omotara James; Paul Con Queso; paulA neves; Positive Gunter; Purvi Shah; Raina Leon; Remica Bingham-Risher; Roque Raquel Salas Rivera; Scarlet Gomez; Sean Battle; Sonia Sanchez; Rescue Poetix; Talena Lachelle Queen; Taylor Johnson; Tehsaun Glover “Starski”; Todd Davis; torrin a greathouse; Tyehimba Jess and Vincent Toro.
 
For the first time this season, Dodge Poetry developed an external selection committee, which reviewed more than 350 applications and selected both emerging and mid-career poets to appear at the festival. The selection committee included:

• Jubi Arriola-Headley, author of two collections of poetry and a 2024 Dodge Poetry Festival poet whose work has received support from Yaddo, Millay Arts, Lambda Literary, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the Atlantic Center for the Arts;
• Kyle Dargan, who was long-listed for the Pulitzer Prize and is a professor of Creative Communication at American University and the head of the stories division for Janelle Monáe's creative company, Wondaland, as well as a Dodge Poetry Festival poet in 2010 and again in 2020;
• Iain Haley Pollock, author of three poetry collections, Director of the MFA Program at Manhattanville College, and a 2024 Dodge Poetry Festival poet;
• Sakina Hofler, lecturer at the Princeton Writing Program at Princeton University and a 2024 Dodge Poetry Festival poet;
• Yesenia Montilla, the author of two collections and a NAACP Image Award nominee, and a 2016 Dodge Poetry Festival poet.

The expanded partnership between the Dodge Foundation, a private foundation that supports organizations working towards a just and equitable New Jersey, and NJPAC, Newark and New Jersey's anchor cultural institution that enhances lives through world-class performances, education programs, and community engagement, is made possible through a $1.7M grant the Dodge Foundation provided NJPAC.  
 
20th Dodge Poetry Festival Ticketing
1-day festival pass = $25
3-day festival pass = $50

Festival passes do not include special ticketed events, which must be purchased separately.
Programming Schedule and Descriptions 

Nikki Giovanni, Javon Jackson and Christian McBride

Saturday, October 19
2pm
Victoria Theater
Lizzie & Jonathan Tisch Stage
Tickets: $25-35
 
In this performance, the poems of Nikki Giovanni are paired with new takes on traditional spirituals. Tenor saxophonist Javon Jackson, one of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, is joined by his excellent combo alongside NJPAC Jazz Advisor and bassist Christian McBride, a 16-time Grammy nominee and eight-time winner. The esteemed writer and civil rights activist sews her poetry into this musical quilt. 

Joan Baez: An Evening of Poetry and Conversation

Saturday, October 19
8pm
Victoria Theater
Lizzie & Jonathan Tisch Stage
Tickets: $25-35

Singer, songwriter, and activist comes to NJPAC's stage in a new role: published poet. Though she's written poetry for many years, she hasn't shared it publicly until the release of her 2024 collection, When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance. In this intimate conversation, Baez will share personal poems about childhood, family, and musical contemporaries like Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and Jimi Hendrix, and their link to social change beginning in the 1960s. It's a glimpse into the deep inner life of a cultural icon. 

Family Fun Day @ Dodge Poetry

Saturday, October 19, 2024
11AM – 4PM
Military Park
Free

Express yourself at Dodge Poetry Festival's Family Fun Day! Bring the kids to Military
Park for free, family-friendly poetry performances. Experiment with writing your own
poems and explore the joyful, liberating power of language. Sing and dance along with
our DJ. Enjoy drag storytelling, face painting and all-ages activities. (If you work up an
appetite, grab a bite at the nearby food trucks.) All are welcome at this festive
community celebration of self-expression.

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