Residents of Village Apartments of the Jewish Federation in South Orange are Discovering Their Inner Poets in Monthly Workshop

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J., September 18, 2014 – Residents of Village Apartments of the Jewish Federation in South Orange are reaching deep inside to write collaborative poetry at a monthly workshop conducted at the senior community by the non-profit organization, Arts by the People. Every month, facilitator Paul Rabinowitz, executive director of Arts by the People, presents a theme to the group of approximately a dozen seniors. After some discussion about the theme, Rabinowitz reads published poetry related to it and then provides a verbal prompt to elicit feedback from the participants; their answers then become the basis for a collaborative poem about that topic.

Rabinowitz noted that the poetry being created in class is very deep, as the residents draw from their own past in response to the prompts with rich and touching results. A hand-bound volume for each participant will be created at the end of the workshop session that residents will be able to share with friends and family. He recently led the poetry workshop at Jewish Federation Plaza in West Orange and does it on an ongoing basis at Lester Senior Housing Community in Whippany, where residents give monthly readings of their work. Both senior living communities as well as Village Apartments of the Jewish Federation are owned and managed by the Jewish Community Housing Corporation of Metropolitan New Jersey.

Village Apartments of the Jewish Federation is located at 110 Vose Avenue near downtown South Orange. For information about the senior community and its programs and options for residents, call Cheryl Kasye at (973) 763-0999 or visit www.jchcorp.org/.