WRITING WORKSHOPS
Workshops with Distinguished Poets
The Poetry Center offers poetry writing workshops in conjunction with the Distinguished Poets Reading Series. Over the years, distinguished poets have included poet laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, Inaugural poets and others of national and international reputation, such as Allen Ginsberg, William Stafford, Amiri Baraka, Lucille Clifton, Stanley Kunitz, Billy Collins, Marge Piercy, Mark Doty, Marie Howe, Kim Addonizio, Billy Collins, Dorianne Laux, Robert Sward, Patricia Smith, Martín Espada, Toi Derricotte and Richard Blanco.
There is limited enrollment, and workshops generally fill up, so register early. For full information, open the registration form link below. Check on registration availability by emailing Cynthia Pagan at the Poetry Center.
The college is limiting the number of attendees for all the events, so registration is required and limited for workshops. Everyone visiting the Poetry Center for workshops and readings should be vaccinated. Coffee, tea, and a light breakfast will be provided for workshop participants.
Poets will give a poetry reading following their workshop. All readings are always free and open to the public. A link for virtual readings will be provided on the Readings page before the event.
Readings are recorded and archived for viewing on the Poetry Center’s YouTube channel.
There will be some in-person and some virtual (Zoom) workshops offered. Registration and a fee of $20 are required for all workshops.
Workshops via Zoom will run from 1 PM – 2:30 PM (EST) and be followed by the poet’s reading from 2:30 PM – 3 PM (ET), unless otherwise noted below.
In-person workshops will be held at the Poetry Center in Paterson from 10 AM to 12 PM and will be followed by their reading at the Center at 1 PM. These in-person readings include an open reading opportunity after the featured poets.
Directions and parking information for the Poetry Center
Workshops 2024-2025
For bios of the poets, see our READINGS page.
November 15, 2025 Paterson Literary Review #53 Publication Celebration NO WORKSHOPS
December 6, 2025 Martín Espada or Dante Di Stefano
January 10, 2026 Jan Beatty virtual via Zoom
February 7, 2026 Allen Ginsberg Poetry Award for 2025 Reading NO WORKSHOPS
February 21, 2026 Nicole Santalucia virtual via Zoom
March 7, 2026 Barbara Crooker or Adele Kenny
March 21, 2026 Edvige Giunta virtual via Zoom
April 11, 2026 Paterson Poetry Prize Winner Reading, Joan Kwon Glass or Nancy Miller Gomez
April 25, 2026 Book Launch and Reading for the Laura Boss Narrative Poetry Award NO WORKSHOPS
May 2, 2026 Richard Blanco or José Antonio Rodríguez
May 16, 2026 Jim Reese virtual via Zoom
June 6, 2026 Leah Umansky virtual via Zoom
Download the workshop registration form for any of these dates
The Mature Adults Workshop Series is held online using Zoom. This series is open to adults 50 and older. Award-winning poet Maria Mazziotti Gillan leads each workshop in the series.
There are six one-hour workshops in each series. The focus is on writing narrative poetry and sharing the work that you’ve just written in the workshop.
Pre-registration is required for the entire workshop series. The fee is $90 for all six workshop sessions. Registration is by check and mail. We will take a maximum of 25 people, and it will be on a first-come-first-served basis based on receiving your check in the office. So, If you want to participate in the next session, please send the registration form and your check as soon as possible. To check registration availability, email Cynthia Pagan at cpagan@pccc.edu. Registration will only be confirmed when your check has been received. We do not offer individual sessions, so please sign up for the entire six-session series. We do not offer refunds.