Queens Tribune

Queens poetry lovers wanted to bring an experience like the biennial Dodge Poetry Festival to the neighborhood. So Marina Yoffe and others, in a cyber office hosted by Google Docs, organized the Jackson Heights Poetry Festival, which will have its second run June 18-20.

“The idea of having people enjoying life and enjoying poetry,” said Yoffe, “and having poetry be kind of lucrative and out there is nice. Even on a small scale. Poets should get paid.”

And indeed they will be. Sponsors like Starbucks and Dime fund the organization. State Sen. Hiram Monserrate (D-Corona) secured a 2008-2009 Legislative Grant for the poetry-loving collective. Yoffe says he was taken by the group’s mission, and did so without prompt or request.

Most of the poets leading workshops – including 2007 Queens Poet Laureate Julio Marzan – are receiving a $200 fee for their participation. Marzan is a Puerto Rican-born Queens poet with several books of poetry, including one titled “Utopia Parkway,” which reflects on …“that life always dreamed from New York.”

“In Jackson Heights,” said Marzan “you have a convergence of several immigrations. Russian immigration, Cuban immigration, a lot of cultures, a lot of middle class immigrants. And the immigration has brought with it a lot of cultural life.” Thus came the demand for a poetry festival.

“Well it’s a strange thing to say,” explained Yoffe, “but there’s actually a need for a cultural organization. There’s nothing quite so open to the public. There was no poetry organization. No open mics.”

A full day of workshops will be held on June 18 by poets at the Garden School, and will be on the theme of Poetry and Memory. June 19 will feature open readings at Terraza Cafe near the 7 train line. The Terraza Café also hosts their weekly open readings on Tuesdays, during which any community member can share their work. Yoffe said they even have a comedian who comes to gain exposure at their open readings.

The last day of the festival will be outdoors like the Dodge Festival, on the Garden School lawn.

Participating poets include Nicole Cooley, Roger Sedarat, Richard Jeffrey Newman, and Marzan. There will also be independent book publishers present for participants to meet and shmooze with. People interested in participating can go to www.jhpfest.org.