We Are :
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A circle of dreamers, cultural workers, technologists, philosophers, and listeners who believe in the power of the people.
We honor curiosity and innovation.
We celebrate collaboration. And we trust that when we gather with care, something sacred happens.
We are united in our commitment to human connection—and to the magic that happens when disciplines intertwine.
~ SYNERGY ~
We stand in the radical potential of poetry and community-driven celebration.
We build spaces where people feel seen, held, and inspired.
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JCPOFEST is shaped by the understanding that lasting impact grows from the collective.
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We are a 501-C3 Non-Profit Organization devoted to Year Round programming and an Annual Festival Weekend.
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BIOS.
MeLida Rodas
Founder / Creative Director Executive Producer / Interdisciplinary Curator
Melida Rodas, Poet Laureate of Jersey City (2025–2026), is an award-winning educator, poet, and arts advocate with over 20 years of experience. She founded The Jersey City Poetry Festival - JCPOFEST in 2024. This 501- C3 non-profit organization provides year round programming and an annual festival weekend centered on climate justice, interdisciplinary expression and innovation. A first-generation Guatemalan immigrant, Rodas has devoted her career to empowering youth through literacy, memoir writing, and culturally responsive teaching. Her writings on the immigrant experience and American working class have been recognized by SaveEllisIsland.org and published by Oxford University Press, The Feminist Press, and more. Rodas has also served on the Jersey City The Arts Trust Fund Committee, is a current board member of the Jersey City Public Library Foundation and Team Member of the Color and Light Festival, an international projection mapping festival in partnership with Luma Festival.
I. Buenaventura, a.k.a Patrick
Producer
Panelist Curator
Zine / Editor​
I. Buenaventura (a.k.a Patrick) is a New Jersey-based poet. They hold an MFA in Design & Technology from Parsons School of Design. They have a background in art, literature, filmmaking, and the web, and have worked in various roles in marketing, communications, and information technology.
Patrick has practiced both self-defense and martial arts for three decades. They self-published a book on self-defense for women called “Your Body is Your Weapon: The Little Self-Defense Handbook,” which they illustrated and wrote in free verse poetry. The book was awarded an Honorable Mention in the Inspirational / Self-Help Category of the 31st Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards.
Additionally, they have been published in Slant’d Magazine and By the WAYE, and have been a featured reader at events in New Jersey and New York, including the Paterson Poetry Festival and the NYC Poetry Festival.
An activist for LGBTQ+ rights, Patrick fought for marriage equality in New Jersey in 2013. He began transitioning full-time in 2022 and identifies as transmasculine and non-binary. He has been documenting his transition in a series of poems, and much of this work serves as a form of activism in support of the trans community.
Aurelia Luciano
Producer
Panelist Curator
Zine / Editor​