Resident Claims Kilmer Poem Proof

A local researcher says he's found proof that Joyce Kilmer's poem 'Trees' was written in the township.

A Mahwah researcher who earlier this year founded the Joyce Kilmer Society says a book that was tucked away in a university library in Washington DC contains the answer to a century-long question about where the author’s most famous poem was written. For the past 100 years, various locations across the country, including Mahwah, have claimed to be the birthplace, and inspiration behind “Trees.” Mahwah researcher and former reporter Alex Michelini announced in a release Friday that he found a notebook this week in the Special Collections Research Center of Lauinger Library at Georgetown University that proves that Kilmer wrote the poem in Mahwah, where he lived for five years during the early 1910’s. Michelini said he found a frayed …

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Mahwah Makes 'USA Today' Front Page

Article examines why changes in education may be sending Joyce Kilmer’s famed poem Trees – which many argue was written in the township – into ‘oblivion’

A story about the fate of Mahwah poet Joyce Kilmer’s poem Trees in the changing education system made the front page of the USA Today Tuesday. In a piece that is also posted online, the national newspaper says the poem, which local scholars argue was written in Mahwah and inspired by township trees, is nowhere near as prominent in education as it was decades ago. The poem, which the article says was memorized by most students in the country now over the age of 50, may be “on the road to oblivion.” “Blame it on changes in education: Comprehension and invention are in, rote memorization is out,” the article says. “Blame it on changes in poetry: Rhyme is insipid, sentimental is stupid.” The USA Today article credits Mahwah with commemorating …

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Joyce Kilmer Tribute Night to Celebrate Work of Famed Mahwah Poet

A newly formed group honoring the life and work of Joyce Kilmer is sponsoring the free party next month

The Joyce Kilmer Society of Mahwah, a group of locals who recently joined together to help preserve and celebrate the legacy of late Mahwah poet Joyce Kilmer, is working to get the whole community involved in its mission. In the latest volume of its Newsletter, the group announced an event it is planning for next month, ‘A Tribute to Joyce Kilmer.’ Set to happen at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in Mahwah on May 21, the free event promises a line-up that will celebrate the life and works of Kilmer, specifically 'Trees,' his most famous poem and one that local historians argue was penned in the township. The event is set to include a video presentation of Metropolitan Opera Singer Robert Merrill singing ‘Trees,’ a playing of the 1949 radio…

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Report: Mahwah Officially Says Kilmer Poem Written In Township

Ceremony Friday likely kicked off year-long Joyce Kilmer celebration

Mahwah has officially declared 'Trees,' the most famous poem by poet Joyce Kilmer, was written on township soil, a NorthJersey.com report said. Despite claims from about a half dozen cities and towns around the country that say the poem was written there, Mahwah made its claim official with a declaration Friday calling the township the poem's birthplace, the report said. Officials told the publication they have dismissed the other claims. "We’re staking our claim," Councilman John Spiech, said in the report. "We don’t care what anybody says." The ceremony Friday recognizing the 100th anniversary of "Trees" will likely be the kick-off to a year-long Kilmer celebration. Read the full NorthJersey.com report here.

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On Poem’s Centennial Eve, Mahwah Starts Joyce Kilmer Commemoration

After years of arguing that Kilmer's most famous poem, "Trees," was written in Mahwah, one man's crusade to have the hometown poet honored is beginning to pay off

The day before the 100th birthday of Joyce Kilmer’s famous poem “Trees,” Mahwah is kicking off what officials say may become a year-long celebration of the poet, his life and his work. But, according to one township resident, the road to getting the township to honor one of its own has been a long one. Alex Michelini, a longtime resident and former member of the Mahwah Historical Commission, said he completed an investigation into the history of Kilmer’s famed poem in the summer of 2011. According to Michelini, no one disputes that Kilmer lived in Mahwah between 1912 and 1917. And, it’s widely accepted that he wrote “Trees” on Feb. 2, 1913. However, there is some dispute over where it was written. Places like Rutgers University and the …

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History Buff Argues 100th Anniversary Kilmer Poem Penned in Mahwah

Past Mahwah Historical Society President Alex Michelini shares why he believes Joyce Kilmer wrote his famous poem 'Trees' in Mahwah, and why township residents should care more about it