Joe Weil

For the con artist, see Joseph Weil. For the German actor, see Jo Weil.
Joe Weil
New Jersey Bard at Poetry Reading
New Jersey Bard at Poetry Reading
BornJoseph D. Weil
(1958-03-24) March 24, 1958 (age 66)
Elizabeth, New Jersey
OccupationProfessor at Binghamton University
SpouseEmily Vogel (2011 - Present)

Joseph D. Weil (born March 24, 1958) is an American poet. He currently teaches undergraduate and graduate creative writing classes at Binghamton University.[1]

Weil grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey[2] and was described by The New York Times as personifying that town: "working-class, irreverent, modest, but open to the world and filled with a wealth of possibilities."[3]

Weil's mother died of cancer when he was 17. Weil dropped out of Rutgers University to care for his ill father, a former boxer and glue-factory worker who became alcoholic. After his father's death, Weil became homeless. He found work in factories, and eventually found long-term work at National Tool.[4]

Weil's latest book is "The Plumber's Apprentice," published in 2009 by New York Quarterly.

In 2008, Weil published two books of poetry, Painting the Christmas Trees (Texas A & M University Press) and What Remains (Nightshade Press). These books contain "Elegy for Sue Rapeezi," "Ode to Elizabeth," "Fists (for My Father)," "Morning at Elizabeth Arch," and "The Dead Are in My Living Room," which appeared in earlier chapbooks published by David Roskos of Iniquity Press/Vendetta books. The fall of 2008 saw Weil perform with Patricia Smith and Jan Beatty at the Geraldine R. Dodge poetry festival. Weil's poetry was also profiled in an NJPBS special, (see YouTube, Joe weil, NJPBS) a decade after he appeared on Bill Moyer's PBS documentary, "Fooling With Words."

  1. ^ "Ex-poetry slam champ to give free reading", The Post-Standard, October 18, 2006, p. B1.
  2. ^ James, George. "In a Lodge by a Lake, Friends Celebrate a Poet's Soul", The New York Times, April 20, 1997. Accessed May 28, 2008.
  3. ^ Wind, Barbara. "IN PERSON; The Poet as Working Stiff", The New York Times, December 6, 1998. Accessed February 28, 2008. "Joe Weil is Elizabeth: working-class, irreverent, modest, but open to the world and filled with a wealth of possibilities."
  4. ^ Allee, Rod. "A working man's poet spots the inner beauty", The Record, April 1, 1998, p. I01.