Dodge Poetry Festival (redirected from Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival)

Dodge (Geraldine R.) Poetry Festival

September in even-numbered years

Since the first Dodge Poetry Festival was held in 1986, the biennial gathering has grown into a four-day event that draws upwards of 5,000 people—including television crews—for what has been described as "a grueling but exhilarating marathon of poetry activity." Readings, panel discussions, and talks by some of America's most famous poets have made the restored village of Waterloo in rural southern New Jersey synonymous with the word "poetry" for the students, writers, and interested spectators who flock to the festival, which is sponsored by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. Mrs. Dodge was a local philanthropist.
Many of the events take place outdoors and include music, food, and strolling performers, giving the whole affair the flavor of a bona fide festival rather than the typical writers' conference. Coverage of the Dodge Festival by the award-winning PBS series "The Power of the Word," hosted by Bill Moyers, is thought to have contributed to the festival's broad public appeal. The 2008 festival brought such luminaries as Lucille Clifton, Billy Collins, Maxine Kumin, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Charles Simic.

CONTACTS:
Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation
163 Madison Ave.
P.O. Box 1239
Morristown, NJ 07962
973-540-8442; fax: 973-540-1211
www.dodgepoetry.org