Poet Joe Weil is a resident of Elizabeth and professor at Binghamton University. One of the poems he has is called ‘I’m in love with the girl who’s in love with the girl who’s in love with me.’ He was hilarious and appreciated by the attendees.
WEST ORANGE — Poet Frank L. Niccoletti, of West Orange, had a vision for the Boathouse in Verona Park. He thought it would be a great place to have a poetry reading.
After getting the approval from Barbara Priest, membership chairperson of the board of directors of the Verona Park Conservancy, he gathered several noted poets. Along with celebrated poet and artist Linda Hillringhouse, they put together a beautiful event.
Featured readers were Maria Mazziotti Gillan, Joe Weil and Mark Hillringhouse. Showcased readers were Cat Doty, Arthur Russell, Rachelle Parker, Susan Balik, Ken Ronkowitz, Frank Niccoletti and Linda Hillringhouse.
“This is a hot bed of great poets,” said Niccoletti, whose own poetry had appeared in Paterson Literary Review, LIPS, Tiferet and several other magazines, journals and anthologies. As a veteran hiker on the trails of Essex County’s numerous parks, whose design, flora and fauna have inspired many of his works, he’s a retired director of English, arts and humanities. He’s also taught English and art at several grade levels, including college. His artwork in various media has been widely exhibited and he is a recipient of the New Jersey Writers Conference Poetry Award and a lifetime member of both the West Orange Arts Council and Friends of the West Orange Public Library.
The poem Niccoletti read at the Boathouse was “What happened in our house,” which has the epigraph “there is no shame that we can not share,” a quote by award-winning poet Maria Mazziotti Gillan, to whom he dedicated the poem.
Gillan is the founder and executive director of the Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College in Paterson and editor of the Paterson Literary Review.
She’s also the author of 24 books. Linda Hillringhouse referred to Gillan as “a major presence in poetry for 45 years.”
“My poetry is intended for everybody,” said Gillan, who writes about family, love, grief and relationships within the family.
Poet Joe Weil is a resident of Elizabeth and professor at Binghamton University. One of the poems he has is called “I’m in love with the girl who’s in love with the girl who’s in love with me.” He was hilarious and appreciated by the attendees.
Mark Hillringhouse is a poet, essayist and photographer. His photography and writing have been published in The American Poetry Review, The Literary Review, The New York Times, The New Jersey Monthly, The Paris Review and in many other journals, books, anthologies and magazines. He was the founding editor of
The American Book Review and a contributing editor for The New York Arts Journal.
He read “Giving Away All My Books,” which received First Prize from the 2024 Allen Ginsberg Poetry Awards.
In addition to organizing the event, Linda Hillringhouse also hosted and read. She has a master’s degree in fine arts from Columbia University in poetry. She was a first-place winner of the Allen Ginsberg Poetry Award (2014) and the second-place winner of Nimrod’s Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry (2012). Her work has appeared in Lips, New Ohio Review, Nimrod International Journal of Prose and Poetry, Oberon Poetry Magazine, Prairie Schooner and The Paterson Literary Review, to name a few.
The Boathouse Poetry Reading was intended to benefit The Children’s Garden in Verona Park. The event was free, with a suggested donation of $5.
About the Author
