Culture Center's 'Poetry Series' To Be Held Tonight

The third Tuesday of the month is nothing special in most towns, but here in Fanwood, it's the date of a popular local arts event: the Patricia M. Kuran Cultural Arts Center's "Poetry Series."

This month’s series, which is being held tonight at 8 p.m., will feature poets B.J. Ward and Joe Weil.

Ward is a Pushcart Prize winner for poetry, and has had his poetry and essays published in multiple publications and anthologies across the nation. One of his poems, "For the Children of the World Trade Center Victims," was even cast in bronze and included as part of an outdoor sculpture museum in Hamilton.

Ward said tonight's event will be a special one for him.

"I'm thrilled to read with Joe Weil, one of my favorite poets," he said. "We're planning a 'poetry exchange,' in which he reads a poem, then I read a poem, then he reads one..."

An Elizabeth resident, Weil is an editor, director and performer who has had his work appear in many publications, including The New York Times.

According to NJPoets.com, his "mixture of passionate joy and sorrow makes his poetry appealing and accessible on a very human level. His poems often speak of the working man’s plight and the common people's beauty."

These speakers are the main course, but the individuals in attendance at the Poetry Series are the dessert. At every Poetry Series event, there is time set aside for anyone who wants to offer up their own work as well. 

The Carriage House Poetry Series will be held at 8 p.m. tonight at the Patricia M. Kuran Cultural Arts Center on Watson Road in Fanwood. Contact Adele Kenny at 908-889-7223 for more information.