The Word Seed Inc Power of Words Summer Series is a collaboration between Word Seed Inc and CavanKerry Press. It is generously hosted by the Paterson Museum. The series is designed to celebrate the power of words and to provide a platform for emerging and established poets to share their work.
Word Seed Inc is a non-profit organization that promotes literacy and the arts in Paterson, New Jersey. The organization hosts a variety of events throughout the year, including the Power of Words Summer Series. The Power of Words Summer Series is a great opportunity to enjoy poetry and to learn more about the work of local and national poets. The series is also a great way to support the work of Word Seed Inc, a non-profit organization that is committed to promoting literacy and the arts in Paterson.
The Power of Words Summer Series is a free event that features poetry readings by local and national poets. The series takes place on Thursdays at 6:30 PM from May to July at The Paterson Museum located at 2 Market Street.
The 2023 Power of Words Summer Series lineup includes:
The event is free and open to the public. No registration is required.
Word Seed Inc is a non-profit organization that promotes literacy and the arts in Paterson, New Jersey. The organization was founded in 2019 by Talena Lachelle Queen and has served over 1,000 people in Paterson, New Jersey, and beyond.
Word Seed Inc is committed to providing opportunities for all members of the community to experience the power of words. The organization believes that literacy and the arts are essential for a healthy and vibrant community.
CavanKerry Press is a small press that publishes poetry. Founded in 2000 by Joan Cusack Handler and Florenz Eisman, CavanKerry began with the aim to demystify poetry. The idea has grown and the press has continued to bring poetry to people where they live, work, and receive services.
The May 25th event featured Talena Lachelle Queen, Word Seed Inc founder and Paterson Poet Laureate, and Tina Kelley, poet and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist.
Queen is a spoken word artist, educator, and activist. In addition to being Poet Laureate of Paterson, New Jersey, since 2018, is founder and Executive Director of the Paterson Poetry Festival now in its sixth year. She is also founder and president of Word Seed, Inc. a team of literary artists who organize community outreach programs. Her publications include a forthcoming poetry collection How Do I Tell Them (Poets Wear Prada), Soup Can Magazine, the LitFuse Anthology, and When Women Speak (Edt. Ameerah Shabazz-Bilal). A sought after artist, Queen has performed at many places including the NJ Governor’s Mansion, Hoboken Historical Museum and NYCMT presents Hip Hop Cypher.
Kelley is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who has written for The New York Times. Tina’s books include Abloom & Awry (CavanKerry Press, 2017); Ardor, which won the Jacar Press 2017 chapbook competition; Precise (Word Poetry, 2013); and The Gospel of Galore (Word Poetry, 2002), winner of a 2003 Washington State Book Award. She coauthored Almost Home: Helping Kids Move from Homelessness to Hope, and reported for The New York Times for a decade, sharing in a staff Pulitzer for 9/11 coverage. Her writing has appeared in Poetry East, Southwest Review, Prairie Schooner, and The Best American Poetry 2009. She and her husband have two children and live in Maplewood, New Jersey.
The June 22nd event featured Felicia Sherelle, poet, children's author, and social worker, and Isaaic Patterson, poet. Sherelle is a spoken word artist who has performed at venues across the country. In addition to being a board member of Word Seed Inc and planner for the Paterson Poetry Festival for that last five years, Felicia is an author, workshop leader, and writing and publishing consultant.Felicia has championed a myriad of children's issues in the public and private sectors. Enough of Frankie Already! is her first children’s book, an anti-bullying book, followed by a children’s book she co-authored with her teen daughter, Four Generations of Us. Felicia also contributed to the children’s bedtime story anthology, Bedtime Babies with a story, Good Night Magic Shoes, that was converted to a book of its own. Felicia consults with school districts on anti-bullying issues, consults with writers on the writing process and self-publishing industry, and ghost writes.
Patterson is a poet and self-published author who was introduced to writing with the advice from a friend’s mother to channel his emotions and thoughts in the form of words during his high-school years which sparked his purpose. Now that he had a safe space to turn to, he began writing obsessively and elevated his skill of poetry through the years. He has been inspired by all forms of music, the struggles that he has faced in his life and through poets like Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes and many others. You can now find his published poetry book, Bare With Me As I Stand Here Bare Amazon.
The July 27th event featured Kathy Kremins, educator and poet, and Yves-Mary Fontin, poet and organizer.
Kremins she/her), born and raised in Newark, is a retired New Jersey public school teacher. She has two chapbooks of poems, Seamus & His Smalls (Two Key Customs, 2023) and Undressing the World (Finishing Line Press, 2022). Her first full-length book of poetry, The Curve of Things, will be published by CavanKerry Press in 2024. Recent poetry appears in When Women Speak Anthology, Soup Can Magazine, and Writers Resist. She is a member of the feminist collective, Write On! Poetry Babes.
Fontin is a poet and organizer who has worked with the Paterson Poetry Festival. Born and raised in Haiti, is a poet and organizer who now calls Paterson, NJ his home. He is a husband, father and an active member of the Word Seed Inc board. He spends much of his time advocating for Haitian liberation and supporting youth initiatives. His poetry explores the nuance of multilingualism and gives tribute to his native home, Haiti.
