No sleep 'til ... Dodge!
Dodge. If you say the word to an East Coast poet (and some West Coast and Middle America poets, too), he or she knows exactly what you’re talking about. Dodge is by far the largest poetry gathering in the United States—it is the Super Bowl of poetry events. No. Dodge is a coming together of poets and poetry lovers. No. Dodge is a religious experience.
All of the above are correct, and none of my descriptions does it justice.
For those who have never been, the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival is held at Waterloo Village in Stanhope, New Jersey, every two years. The historic grounds are distinctive and beautiful, with plenty of space for the 20,000+ people attending the four-day event.
Waterloo makes a wonderful church for the gospel of poetry. But it really is about the people—from my friends I go with every year, to the people I run into within the poetry community. Poets I’m looking forward to hearing include Lucille Clifton, Galway Kinnell, Robert Bly, Grace Paley, Toi Derricotte, Mark Doty, Gerald Stern, Sekou Sundiata, Elizabeth Alexander, Terrance Hayes, Natasha Trethewey, Jim Daniels, Ross Gay, and Billy Collins.
This year, I will be there September 29-October 1—my fifth year in attendance. I’m so jazzed about the event that I’m celebrating the next 30 days with a countdown (see post on the left). Also, I’m attempting to do something poetry related every day leading up to Dodge, such as writing a boatload of poems.
Most important, I WILL BE BLOGGING FROM DODGE! (Yes, I’m shouting!) I’ll have my laptop, digital camera, and cell phone ready to bring you any and all kernels that fall from the Dodge poetry table. So if you can’t go, I will bring Dodge to you!
All of the above are correct, and none of my descriptions does it justice.
For those who have never been, the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival is held at Waterloo Village in Stanhope, New Jersey, every two years. The historic grounds are distinctive and beautiful, with plenty of space for the 20,000+ people attending the four-day event.
Waterloo makes a wonderful church for the gospel of poetry. But it really is about the people—from my friends I go with every year, to the people I run into within the poetry community. Poets I’m looking forward to hearing include Lucille Clifton, Galway Kinnell, Robert Bly, Grace Paley, Toi Derricotte, Mark Doty, Gerald Stern, Sekou Sundiata, Elizabeth Alexander, Terrance Hayes, Natasha Trethewey, Jim Daniels, Ross Gay, and Billy Collins.
This year, I will be there September 29-October 1—my fifth year in attendance. I’m so jazzed about the event that I’m celebrating the next 30 days with a countdown (see post on the left). Also, I’m attempting to do something poetry related every day leading up to Dodge, such as writing a boatload of poems.
Most important, I WILL BE BLOGGING FROM DODGE! (Yes, I’m shouting!) I’ll have my laptop, digital camera, and cell phone ready to bring you any and all kernels that fall from the Dodge poetry table. So if you can’t go, I will bring Dodge to you!
Comments
fun and inspiration
and interest...
yay for you to share it with us!
:)
Maybe we can meet up for coffee in between sessions over the weekend.
Very cool!