Because of the ongoing unpredictability of the COVID pandemic, we are moving the 2020 Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival online. We must make the choice that best protects the health of our audiences, Festival Poets, Dodge personnel, New Jersey Performing Arts Center staff, and Newark residents who support us as volunteers and site crew.
We see this as an opportunity to expand the Dodge Poetry Festival community, and provide greater access to contemporary poetry and poets.
As this new pandemic emerged, poets, singers, storytellers and other artists began offering their work on the internet. As we continued to confront our chronic disease of racism, they remained our chief witnesses, advocating for what is best in us, reminding us of our capacity to be generous and just.
Whatever savings we accrue from not producing a live Festival will go toward providing some relief for COVID-19's impact on non-profit organizations that support poets of color, the LGBTQ community, and poets with disabilities. (Above: Some of the 2018 Dodge Poetry Festival Poets at dinner. Photo by Alex Towle Photography.) |
If you already purchased tickets for the in-person Festival, you will receive a full refund. Representatives from the NJPAC Box Office will be reaching out to you in the next few days with more details.
As always, this 2020 Dodge Poetry Festival will celebrate the great diversity of voices that make-up contemporary poetry. The Festival Poets and Academy of American Poets’ Chancellors, announced last fall, will still be joining us, and we’ll be announcing additional poets and performers over the next few months.
If you haven’t already, sign up for our mailing list, follow our Poetry Fridays blog and join us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay informed on all the latest Dodge Poetry Festival news. (Above: NJPAC Box Office staff helping attendees at the 2018 Dodge Poetry Festival. Photo by Alex Towle Photography)
We also invite you to complete a short survey that will help us to plan and create a virtual Festival that is enjoyable, accessible and easy to navigate.
Click Here to Complete Our Survey
We, too, hunger for the experience of connection and community that is at the heart of the Dodge Poetry Festival. While we are sad that we won't be together in-person this year, we're also very excited to meet face-to-face, as we bring the virtual Dodge Poetry Festival into homes around the world. We look forward to seeing you there. Best wishes, Martin Farawell |
