Word Seed Inc., and Local Partners Awarded $266,540 NJEDA A.R.T. Phase II Grant to Launch Year-Long Poetic License Project in Paterson
Word Seed was among 39 organizations statewide selected to receive funding as part of NJEDA’s $15 million initiative to support community development through community-driven arts projects. Notably, Word Seed was the only Paterson-based organization to receive an award, earning the #3 overall score out of nearly 100 eligible submissions. The application’s success was bolstered by partnerships with seasoned cultural and community institutions including the Paterson Museum, CavanKerry Press, and New Jersey Community Development Corporation (NJCDC).
Poetic License will present four multi-day Poetic License Sessions at the Passaic County Literary Arts Cultural Center, each featuring a performance by a distinguished national poet and several supporting poets, as well as multiple public workshops, interviews, and community events. This residency is intended to breathe new life into the poetic community in Paterson, New Jersey and afford poets an opportunity to engage with Paterson, its history, and its residents. Resident and featured poets for each of the Residency weekends will be announced by mid to late February.
These will take place on the following dates May 1-3, 2026; June 12 - 14, 2026; July 10 - 12, 2026; and in the Month of October. Coinciding with Paterson Poetry Month, the final session in October will expand into a six-day Poetic License Writer’s Incubator, with a residency for a poet newly published by CavanKerry Press — offering them concentrated time to build new connections with the greater Paterson literary community while on their book tour.
Works by all participating poets will be included in a Poetic License written anthology, and their performances captured in a dedicated video anthology.
Why Poetic License Project?
The Poetic License Project is a year-long celebration of poetry, place, and the people who makePaterson pulse. Powered by a $266,540 A.R.T. Phase II Grant from the New Jersey EconomicDevelopment Authority (NJEDA), this initiative brings four intensive poetry weekends toPaterson's own Prototype 237 — featuring performances by nationally recognized poets,community workshops, publications, and events designed to root Paterson deeper into itsidentity as New Jersey's historic poetry capital.Word Seed Inc. was one of 39 organizations statewide selected to receive funding as part ofNJEDA's $15 million initiative — and the only Paterson-based organization to earn an award,scoring #3 overall out of nearly 100 eligible submissions.
The Poetic License Project doesn't start here — it grows from here. Since its founding, Word Seed Inc. has spent eight years cultivating poetry as a tool of community, identity, and transformation in Paterson. From launching the Paterson Poetry Festival in 2018 to expanding Paterson Poetry Month citywide in 2024, Word Seed has steadily built the soil. With the A.R.T. Phase II grant, the Poetic License Project represents a significant next chapter — one designed to reignite Paterson's cultural and economic embers through poetry and to place the city firmly on the national poetry map. This is not just a celebration. This is a homecoming.
At the heart of the Poetic License Project are four multi-day Poetic License Sessions, each held at Prototype 237 — Paterson's own independent arts cooperative. Each session features a distinguished national headliner poet alongside supporting local and regional voices, woven together with public workshops, interviews, and community events. These residencies are designed to breathe new life into Paterson's poetic community — offering poets concentrated time to engage with the city, its history, and its people. Featured poets for each weekend will be announced by mid-to-late February. Session Dates:• Session I: May 1–3, 2026• Session II: June 12–14, 2026• Session III: July 10–12, 2026• Session IV: October (Paterson Poetry Month — see The Writer's Incubator below).
The fourth and final Poetic License Session expands into something even more immersive — a six-day Poetic License Writer's Incubator held during Paterson Poetry Month in October 2026. At its center is a residency for a poet newly published by CavanKerry Press, offering them dedicated time and space to forge new connections with the greater Paterson literary community during their book tour. This incubator is for the poet who needs more than a stage — it's for the poet who needs a city. Paterson has always been that city.
The Poetic License Project lives beyond its weekends. Works by all participating poets will be gathered into a Poetic License written anthology — a lasting record of the voices, visions, and verses that shaped this year. Every performance will also be captured in a dedicated video anthology, ensuring that the poetry lives on long after the last mic is set down. Because some words deserve to echo.
The Poetic License Project is anchored by two large-scale public celebrations that open and close the year with community, music, and verse. The Poetic License Welcome Party kicks things off in March 2026, spanning both the Paterson Museum and Prototype 237 — two stages, multiple performances, bands, and DJs. Come as you are. Bring your neighbors. The year closes with the Paterson Poetry Prom on October 31, 2026 — a one-of-a-kind night to crown Paterson Poetry Month. Think costumes, performances, bands, DJs, and a whole lot of poetry. Both events are free and open to the public, because poetry belongs to everyone.
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