Pages from Allen Crawford’s illustrated edition of Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself”

“The state of poetry is New Jersey,” former Dodge Poetry Program Director Martin Farawell told the crowd at the 2015 Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival. State of the Arts has attended many over the years, including 2002, 2012, and 2024. Every year, it is evident how rich and creative the poetry and writing scene is here in the Garden State.

But every generation of writers reflects inevitably upon the past, influenced by the words of their elders. Today, we’re heading to the State of the Arts archives for inspiration and words from four poets who are no longer with us: Maya Angelou, Gerald Stern, Allen Ginsberg, and Walt Whitman.

“We come from the creator, trailing wisps of glory…”

Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou (1928-2014) is an icon for a reason. Her legacy is deep and important: she was a civil rights activist, memoirist, essayist, and, of course, a poet. Angelou was interviewed by host Scott Moniak in 1988, the very early days of State of the Arts. In this gem from our archives, she recited poetry and discussed her life and thoughts on writing. “I think that every human being born, is born with talent,” she told our viewers, noting that all of our talent can be used either destructively or constructively.

“My other religion is poetry.”

Gerald Stern

Born in Pittsburgh, Gerald Stern (1925-2022) went on to live in New York City and Paris throughout his life, but his last home was Lambertville, New Jersey. This 2013 feature followed him from reading to reading, where he brought his poetry to bookshops, creative spaces, and into his own home. “He’s a deeply emotional person, filled with equal parts outrage and tenderness. He’s also a great remember-er,” said poet Jim Haba. “He has the most enormous memory that I’ve ever encountered in a poet: of history and his own history.” He noted that you can see him use these stories as ingredients in his poetry—we invite you to read “Grapefruit,” which you can hear him recite on his front porch in this special video.

“…I became interested in modern form, in which regular New Jersey Rutherford-Paterson speech, idiomatic-vernacular rhythms and diction were used.”

Allen Ginsberg

Born in Newark and raised in Paterson, Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) also appeared in the State of the Arts archives in 1986. The crew headed to his Manhattan apartment, where he discussed his seminal 1954-55 work “Howl” and recited poetry. Ginsberg was a quintessential Beat poet, but in his later works he went on to reference fellow New Jersey poets from the past: Walt Whitman (Camden) and William Carlos Williams (Paterson). Williams has influenced Paterson artists in a variety of mediums—including photographer Todd R. Darling, featured on State of the Arts in 2018.

“A child said What is the grass? fetching it to me with full hands;/How could I answer the child? I do not know what it is any more than he./I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful green stuff woven.”

Walt Whitman, Song of Myself

Walt Whitman (1819-1892), of course, has deep and influential roots in New Jersey’s poetry world. “Growing up in Southern New Jersey, you couldn’t escape the fact that you’re walking in Whitman’s footsteps,” artist Allen Crawford told State of the Arts in 2015. He illustrated a special edition of Whitman’s 1855 epic “Song of Myself,” deliberately designing it to be read slowly and with intention. The book is small enough to comfortably turn over in your hands as you follow the sprawling text and drawings. This format encourages you to take the time to interact with the poem’s words. Interestingly, Crawford included drawings of contemporary life, from space travel to a neighborhood in Philly, noting that “Whitman dealt in the here and the now, and if you’re going to be interpreting Whitman then you have to do the same thing.”

Contemporary and future poets will continue to be influenced by these past wordsmiths and their lasting legacies. We invite you to make your own exploration of the State of the Arts “Words” archives, where you can hear many other poets recite, discuss, and inspire.

Happy National Poetry Month, New Jersey—keep reading, and keep writing!