cv-RESUME
Chip Williford
718-930-6649
chipwillifordpoetlaureate@gmail.com
EDUCATION
Certificate In Theology
Interdenominational Theology Center - Atlanta, GA
A.A.S. Radio And Television Production, Suffolk County Community College - Selden, NY, May 2014, Summa Cum Laude, Sigma Chi Eta, Phi Theta Kappa AZN Vice President of Service
PRESS: INTERVIEWS AND ARTICLES
February 26, 2026 joins WLIW-FM Heart of The East End Gianna Volpe with The Creatives, Lora Tucker, Mary Seymour and Chip Williford for Black History Month
July 22, 2025 joins WLIW-FM Heart of The East End Gianna Volpe
June 27th, 2024 – Chip Williford and Maggie Bloomfield of Poetry Street join WLIW-FM Heart of The East End Gianna Volpe in studio ahead of Poetry Street’s 10th birthday.
October 23, 2023 | WLIW FM | PODCAST Chip Williford joins Gianna Volpe on the WLIW-FM Heart of The East End Monday Meditation Poetry Street Riverhead Library.
June 20th, 2022 - Gianna Volpe on the WLIW-FM Heart of The East End.– Dr. James Banks; Brenda Simmons; Chip Williford and Takudzwa Chikepe
June 24th, 2021 - Chip Williford and Maggie Bloomfield joins Gianna Volpe on the WLIW-FM Heart of The East End
February 4, 2021 - Gianna Volpe on the WLIW-FM Heart of The East End invited poets Suzanne Cade, Lois Moses, Helen Higginbotham and Chip Williford onto the show. In celebration of the last show of Black History Month,
RiverheadLocal COMMUNITY NEWS By Denise Civiletti Sep 26, 2020, - Zoom into Poetry Street: monthly open-mic venue goes virtual in pandemic
RiverheadLOCAL Upcoming Jun 22, 2024 - Poetry Street to celebrate 10th anniversary
RiverheadLocalCOMMUNITY NEWS By Denise Civiletti Jun 27, 2024 - Poetry Street, ‘where everyone has a voice,’ turns 10: Its founders and hosts reflect on the journey
THE SAILORS REVIEW 82nd ISSUE 24 December 2024page 43-52 - ARTIST LOUNGE III
CHIP WILLIFORD THE BEAUTY & POWER OF POETRY - using poetry to add on the cultural landscape of a people,
Interviewed by Violin Chipamaunga “Idea of America”
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TUxgLOvGfL5hDBrGDAoq0lyChF4bDc8p/view
THE SAILORS REVIEW 59TH ISSUE 12 JUNE 2022 pages 70-73
A Conversation With Chip Williford, Interviewed by sibuco - Word In Verse III - Poetry Analysis “TWO FACED” page 70
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qFgZyRUefa8W-1CvwUU3kHfJmSStLhiK/view
THE SAILORS REVIEW 58TH ISSUE 08 MAY 2022 - page 28 - Words in Verse III - “To My Siblings”
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kWgD38CdnVIedMjK2it_EamFsEAbwm2F/view
WORKS PUBLISHED IN ANTHOLOGIES and other Published Works:
“From That Moment On” SBC Magazine Volume Four Issue One January 1995
“I Got Your Mail” SBC Magazine May/June 1996 issue
“Thoughts of a Mongoose” Nassau County Poet Laureate Society Review Vol VIII, 2020
“Vote For Our Lives” Moonstone Arts The Struggle For Liberty Vol.2
“America, I See” Performance Poets Association Literary Review Volume 25
“Tap, Tap, Tap” Performance Poets Association Literary Review Volume 26
“To My Siblings” Sailors Review Issue #58, May 2022
“Two Faced” Sailors Review Issue #59, June 2023
“Uncles Last Rites” Suffolk County Poetry Review 2023
“Borrowed Inspiration” CEED’s Sculpture On The Trail 2023
“Naturally” CEED’s Sculpture On The Trail 2024
“Of Love, Loss and Life” Poetry Bay Long Island Quarterly Winter 2023-2024
“Blue Muse” Poetry Bay Long Island Quarterly Winter 2024-2025
“Salty Growls “ Poetry X-Hunger - Hunger Poems 8-1-2023
“Left Blank” Poetry X-Hunger - Hunger Poems 12-1-2024
“In Between” All The Men Came and Danced, A Poetry Collection of Men’s Voices 2025
“The Beast” Some of The Beast Long Island Poetry 2024 presented by Long Island Poetry & Literature Repository
“Idea of America” Sailors Review, Issue #82, December 2024
“Shame Is Not Mine To Own-From A Child’s Voice” Bards Annual 2024 A Poetry Anthology
“Under The Sole” Suffolk County Poetry Review 2025
“Haiku” What Unites Us!, Prose and Poetry and The Constitution, Democracy Rule of Law 2025
FEATURED APPEARANCES:
Alive on 25 Summer Street Festival - Arts Stage at East End Arts Riverhead, NY 8-10-2017
Anthology Of A Minority Poetry Recital hosted by Dr. Love. 2-24-2021
Poetry Street - 6-26-21
Jones Beach Energy & Nature Center Summer Poetry Festival 7-17-2021
Peconic Landing For Better For Verse 11-19-2021
Moonstone Arts Center’s Poetry Reading Struggle For Liberty 7-3-22
Poets in Port Coalition Ecumenical Lay Council Pantry Northport, NY 12-2-2022
CEED Sculpture On The Trail 8-19-2023 Event - “Borrowed Inspiration” - artist Ted Thirby
Poetry Series Jack Jack Coffee House - Babylon NY 12-7-2023
Soulful Sundown - Unitarian Universalist of Southold Poetry Event 5-25-2024
CEED Sculpture On The Trail 8-17-2024 Event - “Naturally” - artist Gregory Corn
CAPA NEWS -Summer 2024 ELIJA Farm in Huntington Station - Poetry Reading to celebrate Juneteenth and National Caribbean American Heritage Month. A Tribute to Jupiter Hammon presented by Paula Curci and Chip Williford.
Kick-out event Featuring Chip Williford and Judy Turek - Long Island Poetry and Literature Repository -Bohemia, NY 9-19-2024
Poetry Place Poetry Pairs Poetry Reading Series Fall 2024/Winter 2025
Poets Building Bridges Season Four 4-4-25 Poets from Riverhead, Shades Green, Sweden
Village Poetry, All Souls Church 5-10-25
From Near and Afar 5-19-25
June 16, 2025 The Oceanside Library Gazebo Reading
June 18, 2025 Poetry In Motion II Filming
June 21, 2025 Suffolk Youth Poetry Competition Speaker
June 22, 2025 The Scene’s Two-Year Anniversary Banquet
*On Sunday June 29th at 4 pm Walt Whitman Birthplace Association , located at 246 Walt Whitman Road, Huntington, NY hosted a traditional celebration “The Passing of The Twig” ceremony and reading by Williford...the event is free and open to the public.
July 1, 2025 The, Green Space
July 18-25 Peconic Landing
August 1, 2025 Dog-Eared Book Store
August 16th, 2025 at CEED’s Sculpture on The Trail
September 16, 2025 Judged Babylon Poetry Contest and Presented Awards
September 28, 2025 Bards Day celebrating 15 years and Bards Annual 2025
October 12, 2025 Poetry XHunger
October 16, 2025 Long Island Language Arts Council
October 17, 2025 Guest Speaker CAPA National Black Poetry Day at Lloyd Manor
October 18, 2025 Multicultural Solidarity Long Island Fundraiser
October 31, 2025 Friday Night Fire at Teatro Yerbabruja, Bayshore, NY
November 7, 2025 Introduction of Len Khalid Tuffaha at Stony Brook University
December 15, 2025 Hicksville Library, Hicksville, NY
January 2, 2026 Dog Ears Book Shop
January 14, 2026 It’s A Shore Thing - Long Beach Library, Long Beach, NY
January 17, 2026 “Luncheon with Poets” Lecture on Jupiter Hammon, Bohemia, NY
January 19, 2026 MLK Breakfast - Blu Mar- Southampton, NY
January 19, 2026 Kid’s Celebrate MLK Day, WWBA, Huntington Station, NY
February 12, 2026 Long Island Quarterly 35 years benefit, LIP&LR, Bohemia, NY
February 19, 2026 Suffolk County African American Advisory Board H. Lee Dennison Bldg. Black History Month
February 20, 2026 Poem Stars, Mi Taco Poblanita II, Freeport, NY
February 28, 2026 The Creatives featured at Poetry Street Black History Event, Riverhead Library, Riverhead, NY
February 28, 2026 - Sisters of St Joseph Black History Event, Brentwood, NY
March 14, 2026 Nassau & Suffolk Poet Laureates features at Oceanside Library , Oceanside NY
March 20, 2026 Bethel Setauket Nights – Bethel AME Church, Setauket, NY
March 22, 26 Youth Poetry Competition Awards, WWBA , Huntington, NY
SPECIAL SPEAKING EVENTS
Police reform Town Hall Speaker 12-1-2020 and 12-15-2020
Suffolk County Community College - RTV Speaker 2-8-2021
Celebrating Black History Guest Speaker “The Role Of Entertainment in Building Resilience Through Turbulent Times, Sponsored by Suffolk County Community College 2-25-21
P&G Specialties Presents Words of Expression Spoken Word Event 10-30-2022 - Bellport Brewery, Bellport, NY
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone Office of Minority Affairs, African American Advisory Board “The Black Renaissance Era”
Black History Month Program at Lee Dennison Bldg. Hauppaugue NY 2-16-2023
Spread The Love Fundraiser - Angels of Long Island - Riverhead plush Hall 4-29-2023
NAACP Juneteenth Celebration 7-17-2023
Poetry Class Speaker at Queens College Kelly Hall Room 419 - Professor Vivett Dukes’ Youth participatory Action Research Class 10-18-2023 and 10-22-25
NAACP - E.L.I.B. Jazz Brunch 7-20-24
IAAC Literary Festival ( Produced film screened “Satyagraha”) International House NYC 11-15-2025
4-28-26 NO KINGS RALLY SPEAKER - Riverhead Supreme Court House - Riverhead =, NY
4-28-26 NO KINGS RALLY SPEAKER - Agawam Park , South Hampton, NY
WORKSHOP
Poetry Writing Workshop Facilitated by J R Turek Farmingdale Public Library 10-4-2023
OPEN MICS
Bowery Poetry Club
Stark
Harlem Nights
Nuyorican Poets Cafe
Parkside Lounge
East Meadow Public Library
West Hampton Coffee House 9-16-2017
Jones Beach Energy & Nature Center Summer Poetry Festival 7-17-2021
All Souls Church Second Saturdays Poetry Reading 2-12-22
Creativity for the Community 12-1-2022
SpoFest Poetry and Prose 12-2022
PPA Levittown Library 3-18-2023
Sachem Public Library 5-22-2023
Dog Eared Book Shop 2-7-2024
9-22-24 Walt Whitman Birthplace - Bards Annual 2024 Book Launch
9-25-24 Long Island University Post - Some of the Best long Island Poetry 2024
10-21-24 Levittown Town Hall - Long Island Sound Anthology 2023 Book Launch
3-20-25 LILR - Bohemia, NY - All The Men Came Anthology Book Launch
4-6-25 Long Beach Poetry Festival
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Phi Theta Kappa - AZN chapter -Vice President of Service “2013-14”
Poetry Street and Poetry Street On The Road - Director and cohost
NAACP Eastern Long Island Branch - Executive Board Member, and Scholarship Committee Chairman - NAACP/Suffolk County Community College Endowment Scholarship
Multicultural Solidarity Long Island - Friendship Circle Facilitator
Reading Reparations Study Group participant
Suffolk County Police Reform Town Hall Speaker
Northport Arts Coalition member and exhibit sponsor
UPCOMING FEATURED APPERANCES AND READINGS
4-28-26 NO KINGS RALLY SPEAKER - Riverhead Supreme Court House - Riverhead =, NY
4-28-26 NO KINGS RALLY SPEAKER - Agawam Park , South Hampton, NY
4-11-26 Smash Poets - Smash Studios - NYC
4-30-26 Mattituck Library, Mattituck, NY
5-2-26 PPA Current and First Suffolk County Poet Laureate features at East Meadow Library, East Meadow, NY
5-17-26 Teen Poet Laureate Ceremony WWBA, Huntington, NY
5-18-26 Near and Far
8-13-26 Multicultural Solidarity Friendship Circle facilitation
9-13-26 Ancestry Poetry Exhibit, fundraiser for SCCC - NAACP ELIB sponsorship WWBA, Huntington, NY
10-17-26 “Celebrating Jupiter’ Anthology Launch
