OUTREACH PROGRAMS

Presenting Poetry & Prose 

CavanKerry brings writers into diverse underserved communities with free Presenting Poetry & Prose readings.

Each of our authors is encouraged to offer opportunities to members of their community to engage with literature in personal, transformative ways, including with free poetry and prose readings, workshops, mentorships, and interviews.

Poetry Heals

The CavanKerry Poetry Heals program is a series of cathartic workshops designed for physicians and clinicians in hospitals and students in medical schools. In a supportive peer setting, it uses the power of poetry to help participants identify, articulate, and heal from the burdens and stress of their work as caregivers.

As participants benefit personally, they also gain greater awareness of their patients’ situations. This leads to the second goal of the project, to increase observation, listening, and communication skills—the very skills that improve healthcare and patient outcomes. Participants become more sensitized to the impacts of illness and the human being behind the disease. This can reduce bias and judgement, and lead to more respectful, equitable care.

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LaurelBooks

One of the many populations that CavanKerry serves is that of people living with illness and/or disability. When ‘everyday life’ involves living with chronic illness, the emotional and psychological issues become more urgent and complicated. With that in mind, CavanKerry publishes LaurelBooks – The Literature of Illness and Disability, dedicated to the literary exploration of the ‘lived experience’ of illness — the complex and intense emotions associated with the confrontation of chronic, life threatening illness and its effects on self, family, marriage, and work. While all literature has the power to increase understanding about ourselves, others, and the world around us, LaurelBooks in particular address the challenging issues regarding physical and psychological health and healing.

The press’s sixteen published LaurelBooks deal with childhood leukemia, multiple sclerosis, lymphoma, bone marrow transport, cerebral hemorrhage, infertility, emotional dysfunction, obsessive-compulsive disorder, Stage IV cancer, Ewing’s sarcoma, schizophrenia, postpartum depression, the death of a spouse, and a historic portrait of hospital incarceration in the early 20th century.

Poetry Out Loud

Poetry Out Loud is a national poetry recitation program for public, charter, parochial, and home school students from grades 9-12 across America. Every year, CavanKerry Press is proud to be involved with the enrichment of poetry education through the New Jersey chapter of POL; several of our authors assist with the competition as judges; we donate hundreds of books to the participating schools in New Jersey and to the state finalists; and we grant scholarships to further the education of poetry instruction for the NJPOL teacher from the winning school. Many of our authors also participate in the program in their home states.

GiftBooks

CavanKerry’s GiftBooks program was establish as a means of giving back to the community. The press annually donates up to 10% of its inventory to underserved members by way of libraries, schools, geriatric centers, shelters, prisons, and hospitals.

To date CavanKerry has donated over 35,000 books.

The Waiting Room Reader

With CavanKerry’s commitment to supporting the community and producing works of Lives Brought to Life, has come the publication and donation of the Waiting Room Reader: Stories to Keep You Company, Volumes I and II. The Reader is an anthology of poetry and prose from many authors, a compilation of wonderful words designed to ease the stress and anxiety of patients held captive in hospital waiting rooms, anticipating news of a loved one or health care for themselves.

To date, over 19,000 copies of the Readers have been gifted to over 80 hospitals in the New York metropolitan area and nationwide for the benefit of their patients.

Collaborations with other Nonprofit Arts Organizations

CavanKerry partners with other arts organizations on programming/co-sponsoring literary events. These include: Wordseed Inc. (responsible for our partnership with the Paterson Poetry Festival and greater Paterson area programming), Monson Arts: Conference on Poetry and Learning (responsible for the Summer teaching artist opportunity we give to the NJPOL state finalist’s teacher), and The Poetry Society of NY (responsible for the NYC Poetry Festival and other ancillary NYC literary programming initiatives). 

Families First Discovery Pass

CavanKerry has joined forces with The New Jersey State Council of the Arts and the New Jersey Department of Human Services, to bring free books to those receiving New Jersey Supplemental Nutrition Program (NJSNAP) and Women Infants and Children (WIC) through the Families First Discovery Pass program.