Dave Johnson is a poet, playwright, art historian, and literary translator. He is the author of two poetry collections, Dead Heat and Marble Shoot, and two plays, Baptized To The Bone and Sister, Cousin, Aunt. His works have been staged throughout North America and Italy. He is the co-translator from Italian of the New York stage productions of the international best-sellers Gomorrah and Super Santos, and the co-writer from Farsi of the Afghan production of the novella Witches of Kabul. Dave's present art historical works and stage productions center on female artists of the Italian Renaissance. Dave has taught at Yale University, The Cooper Union, and Columbia University, and served as Poet-in-Residence for the New York City Department of Probation from 2012 to 2022, where he co-created and directed Free Verse, a poetry, art, and working artist job program for court-involved New Yorkers, operating in the heart of probation department waiting rooms. He is presently an Associate Professor in the Writing Program at The New School and Professor of Creative Thinking at the Honors College at Montclair State University.
Take a look at Dave’s CV here
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Marble Shoot- The Hummingbird Press -Wake Forest University, 1996 (Poems) - Author
Dead Heat –A CD recording from the full-length collection of poetry - Champion Books, 2009 - Author
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Sister, Cousin, Aunt/Sorella, Cugina, Zia – (Bilingual Edition in English/Italian), Kairos Italy Theatre, 2011 (Play) – Author/Translator
Baptized to the Bone - Dramatist Books, 2005 (Play) - Author
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The Story of Love and Soccer / Calcio e Amore – Originating Role – Kairos Italy Theatre Company *The Cherry Lane Theatre, New York 2017 *St. John’s University, New York 2017
The Fridge / Il Frigo – The One Man Play – Originating Role, Actor w/ Author Tommaso Avati *Casa Italiana NYU, New York 2013
Mock Trial- The Play - Originating Role, Actor w/ Author& Director, Romulus Linney *Theatre for The New City, New York 1997
True Crimes - The Play - Originating Role, Actor w/ Author& Director, Romulus Linney *Theatre for The New City, New York 1995-1996
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In Books, as in Confessionals, Only the Unspeakable is Worth Confessing” – Interview with Edoardo Albinati, author of The Catholic School (English Translation from Italian) –Translator – 12th Street - The New School University, New York - August 2020 http://www.12thstreetonline.com/interview-with-edoardo-albinati/
The Story of Love and Soccer - The Play (English Translation from Italian) – Translator - Kairos Italy Theatre *The Cherry Lane Theatre, New York 2017
Sister, Cousin, Aunt– The Play (From English to Italian) Co-Translator - Kairos Italy Theatre - *TeatroDueRoma, Rome, Italy, 2011 *Teatro Comunale, Montone - Umbria, Italy 2011
Gomorrah – The Play (Italian) - Co-Translator - Kairos Italy Theatre - *North America Tour, 2018 *The Flea Theatre, New York 2010The Family Business – The Play (Italian) - Co-Translator - Kairos Italy Theatre - *North America Tour, 2018 *NYU Casa Italiana, New York 2009
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Free Verse Magazine– Free Verse ??????????????
Versetto Libero – Free Verse/Kairos Italy Theatre, 2019 (Bilingual Poems) - Publisher/Editor
My Mother Bleeds History – Tahara Lilly- Free Verse, 2014 (Poems) - Publisher/Editor
Movin': An Anthology of Contemporary American Young Adult Poetry Orchard/Scholastic Books, 2000 (Poems) – Editor
Editor of Student Literary/Art Publications during the 20+ years of ?????
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Poet in Residence/Executive Director Free Verse Appointed as Poet in Residence by The Mayor’s Office of NYC, duties include soliciting bilingual clients (Spanish/English) to read and write poems, stories, and songs in probation office waiting rooms; teaching a poetry, acting, writing and art workshops for both clients and probation officers; administrating a paid writers’ internship program for probation clients; creating, administrating, and editing a literary journal (Free Verse) completely produced by clients currently serving a probation sentence in the New York City Department of Probation. During COVID19, seven classes a week, ran on the ZOOM Platform.
Director Free Verse Working Artist Program Direct court-involved Free Verse DOP internship graduates to work as teaching artists with bilingual clients (Spanish/English) community-based organizations and their clients, including senior centers serving visually impaired clientele and senior day centers with Teachers & Writers Collaborative. During COVID19 all classes conducted on the ZOOM Platform.
Director and Instructor - Act Like You Mean ItActing and One Person Performance Writing Workshop designed for delivery on ZOOM platform during COVID19. Workshop focuses on writing one act scripts and preparing to perform all roles as a solo show for live audiences. Each participant completes a reel including one classic and one contemporary monologue, as well as an original produced script. Students range from NYU, Columbia University, CUNY, Saint Francis University Prison Studies Program & NYC Probation clients.
Administrator and Manager - Poetry Out Loud Appointed to oversee the United States National Poetry Recitation Program for New York State for The National Endowment of the Arts, New York State Council for the Arts, and Teachers & Writers Collaborative.
Art and poetry work / instruction with Visually impaired seniors, children, multi-generational groups, and work with adult literacy programs ?????????
Social Activator [?] for the American Pavilion at the Expo 2015 Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life in Milan, Italy [please add or elaborate]
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Honors EDGE Program Faculty Creativity & Transformations Workshops
Theatre Arts Faculty Multidisciplinary Arts Seminar and Workshop on poetry, art history, theatre, music, and design.
Associate Professor Poetry: The Language of Music Poetry workshop focuses on the lyrical line, noting a range of readings, poetry recordings, and musical scores.
Writing for Artists Creative and critical writing workshop for artists of every discipline practicing argumentation, research, and clarity, creating works as professional artists, historians, or critics.
Visiting Faculty After the MFA: Teaching Creator of the original seminar for the first graduating MFA class on teaching creative writing workshops on every educational level and among wide-ranging populations and assist MFA graduates in securing paid work.
Visiting LecturerThe Musical Language of Poetry Undergraduate seminar and poetry workshop focusing on prosody.
Lecturer and Administrator Creative Writing Workshops, Text-Based Art Studio Workshops, Art History and Contemporary Art Issues Field Studies Seminar at NYC Museums and Galleries, Editor of Student Literary/Art Publications and Administrator of Guest Artist and Student Literary Reading Series.
Lecturer - Poetry, Playwriting & Performance Studies Teach poetry and playwriting and performance studies workshops during Summer terms.
Social Innovator