Maria Mazziotti Gillan is the subject of a 2012 documentary, “All That Lies Between Us,” that tracks the writer’s life from her humble upbringing in Paterson, N.J., to her success as a Binghamton University professor and award-winning poet.
Gillan, professor of English and director of the Creative Writing Program at Binghamton University, was followed by filmmakers Kevin Carey, professor of writing at Salem State University, and Mark Hillringhouse, professor of English at Passaic County Community College, for more than a year. She was filmed teaching classes, reading poetry, and revisiting Paterson, where she grew up.
“The filmmakers took me to the house I was born in, the house I lived in after that, my high school, and the factory where my father worked,” Gillan said. “Paterson is very important to me. My formative years were spent there. It influenced a lot of my stories.”
Gillan’s parents were Italian immigrants who spoke little English and had little money. She said she found her love of poetry at school and received most of her education from books at the local library.
“When I look back, I realize how lucky I was to have a loving, supportive family,” Gillan said. “When I told my mother I wanted to be a writer, she thought I was crazy and would make no money, but she went out with the two cents she made sewing at the factory and bought me a typewriter in a pink case. She supported me even when she was afraid it was a very impractical ambition.”
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