Tag: Dara Axelrod Expressive Arts Mental Health Poetry Contest

  • Mental health poetry contest will use memories of food as a prompt

    Mental health poetry contest will use memories of food as a prompt

    The NAMI NJ Dara Axelrod Expressive Arts Mental Health Poetry Contest will be based on foods and the memories they evoke. Weave those thoughts into a poem.   The poem should keep with the theme; be typewritten in a Word file; be no longer than 40 lines; be accompanied by a media release form; and…

  • Poetry writing workshop will take prompt from ‘The Wiz’

    Poetry writing workshop will take prompt from ‘The Wiz’

    For this month’s Daily Menu, the NAMI NJ Expressive Arts Cafe is reviving the Broadway play “The Wiz” to inspire a prompt for a poetry workshop. “The Wiz” is the African American adaptation of “The Wizard of Oz” first brought to life on Broadway and then in movie form with Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.…

  • Never ‘without a pen or piano,’ poetry contest winner shares struggles

    Never ‘without a pen or piano,’ poetry contest winner shares struggles

    EAST BRUNSWICK – Laurie Goldman is a musician who uses music as her therapy. “Playing the piano keeps me breathing. Because of that, I play open mics on a fairly regular basis. I usually perform during the week, as it is hard to find open mics on the weekends; however, one Friday night, about three months ago,…

  • ‘More Than Words’ by Laurie Goldman

    ‘More Than Words’ by Laurie Goldman

    “More Than Words” By Laurie Goldman I tried to make the piano scream last night. I struck the keys so hard, that I could feel my fingers bruising more and more, with each passing measure. In that moment, I don’t think I cared if they broke, because, I needed my song to be heard. Ironic…

  • Poet equates mother’s struggle with mental illness to the changing of the seasons

    Poet equates mother’s struggle with mental illness to the changing of the seasons

    NORTH BRUNSWICK – It took many years for Maria del Carmen Rodriguez to realize what her mother was facing throughout her life. “When I noticed that my mother was struggling with mental illness, I did not know what to do with her and the whole situation. There was a point that I considered her wea’…

  • Poetry contest focuses on coping mechanisms

    Poetry contest focuses on coping mechanisms

    The NAMI New Jersey (National Alliance on Mental Illness) fourth annual Dara Axelrod Expressive Arts Mental Health Poetry Contest 2017 will be held in honor of National Poetry Month in April and Mental Health Awareness Month in May. Participants should submit a poem that exhibits the process or processes he/she uses to help make it through tough…