dodge poetry

The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation (Dodge Foundation) and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) launched Dodge Poetry – a new collaboration that celebrates poetry as a catalyst for communities to advance social change. Read the full announcement.

Through this initiative, Dodge Poetry will expand beyond the biennial festival to include year-long programming in Newark. Dodge Poetry events will have three goals to:
1) mobilize communities and fuel movements for social change;
2) amplify poet activists who challenge and reframe existing narratives and norms; and
3) create spaces for empathy, healing, and repair for individuals who have experienced systemic racism.

the festival is back!

Spoken word in every form is celebrated at the Dodge Poetry Festival on October 15-17, 2026 in Downtown Newark.

Meet your favorite poets including Elizabeth Acevedo, Tyehimba Jess, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Aja Monet, Danez Smith, Jive Poetic, Mayde del Valle, José Olivarez and more. Discover new voices, speak your mind, call for change and mix rhyme with rhythm.

learn more

America’s way

The song, “America’s Way: Hope and Justice,” is a collaboration between NJPAC’s Arts Education department and Dodge Poetry in the Community, an initiative of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation that is produced by the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Learn about our programs at njpac.org.

More than 160 young artists enrolled in the Arts Center’s Saturday Arts Training programs participated in the creation of the song and production of the music video.