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The Nick Virgilio Haiku Association is proud to be Camden’s center for writers of all ages, honoring Camden’s own Nick Virgilio, world renowned haiku poet. The Writers House, opened in 2018, is a community space and provides educational programs to support literacy, creative writing, and self-expression through the writing of haiku and other verse forms. We house Mighty Writers Camden to offer educational opportunities and food and diaper distribution to Camden’s families. Outside, you will find a Book Ark mini library with free books inside for the public.
For inquiries about using the Writers House for your events, or to visit by appointment, contact staff@nickvirgiliohaiku.org. Classes are in session during the week. To visit us check out transit info here
The Nick Virgilio Writers House
The NJ Center for the Book (an Affiliate of the US Library of Congress) has chosen the Nick Virgilio Writers House as the 2025 recipient of its Literary Landmark Award.
The Center names one Literary Landmark per state annually, representing the state’s literary, scientific, or artistic heritage and legacy. The Writers House selection recognizes the organization’s commitment to promoting literacy, creativity, self-expression and the literary legacy Nick Virgilio. Previous recipients include the Newark Public Library, the Walt Whitman House, and Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies.
The award recognizes the archiving underway and NVHA’s work with local poets and with children in Camden schools. The archive project once completed (led by poet Sean William Lynch and emeritus Rutgers Camden professor Dr. Geoffrey Sill)) will feature a digital platform to complement an in-person exhibit at the Writers House where users can explore Virgilio’s life, work, and his influence on the haiku community. In 2025 NVHA began teaching haiku in Camden public schools, with the added goal of highlighting the introspective nature of writing poetry. The initiative’s objectives are to increase access to creative writing education, build students’ capacity for contemplation, attention and reflection, and equip children with early written communication skills. The curriculum emphasized the meditative and reflective nature of writing, a powerful tool in helping developing minds process and navigate difficult experiences.
The Writers House, at 1801 Broadway, had been vacant and boarded up since the 1970’s when, in 2010, the Heart of Camden, with the urging of Monsignor Michael Doyle of Sacred Heart Church, acquired the property to transform it into the Nick Virgilio Writers House. As seen in the gallery below, it was a daunting undertaking. Now, the house with its fully accessible first floor and garden area, has interior areas for writing, presentations, and a small kitchen. The construction was enabled by generous support from our initial sponsors, Campbell’s, PNC, NJ American Water and the NJ Department of Community Affairs.
Copyright © 2025 Nick VIrgilio Haiku Association. All rights reserved.
Alfred taught English to junior and senior high school students in New Jersey and Massachusetts prior to working for the municipal government of the City of Camden, New Jersey. He began working with the City of Camden Department of Planning & Development, Division of Housing Services, as a Cost Estimator for Property Improvement in 1984.
He spent the next thirty-eight years working in both the Division of Housing Services, and the Finance Department Bureau of Grants Management, helping the City administer state and federally funded affordable housing projects in Camden.
Alfred spent ten years working with the Bureau of Grants Management, where he reviewed and evaluated grant applications and proposals for funding from non-profit and for- profit housing developers. These agencies included St. Joseph’s Carpenter Society, Heart of Camden, Camden County OEO, Habitat for Humanity,
Camden Lutheran Housing, RPM Development and others. He also worked with social service agencies such as Dooley House, Respond Inc., Sikora House, Center for Family Services, and Volunteers of America, that applied for grant funding.
He also played a significant role in the planning and implementation of the Annual Consolidated Plan grant application submitted to the Department of Housing and Urban Development each year. The Bureau holds an annual grant funding seminar along with public meetings and technical assistance sessions concerning the C-Plan.
Working for the City of Camden Division of Housing Services Alfred also served as the coordinator of the federal funded HOPWA housing Program for 14 years.
HOPWA funds provided safe, affordable, secure, housing for persons with HIV/AIDS, by issuing housing vouchers to their participants. He managed the delivery of services to 80-90 clients a year, covering Camden, Burlington and Gloucester counties.
During his time working for the City of Camden Mr. Dansbury was a member of the CPAC Homeless Network Planning Committee, the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant Advisory Committee and United Neighbors of Whitman Park.
Outside of his work with the City of Camden, Alfred worked as an Adjunct Instructor of Reading Skills and Writing Skills at Camden County College, teaching at both the Camden and Blackwood campuses. In 2022 Alfred published,
“The Strength of Courage” a novel he embarked on as a graduate student in Rowan University’s M.A. in Writing program in 2014-2018.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and Journalism from Rutgers University, a Master’s of Arts degree in Business Administration from Eastern University, a Master’s of Arts in Education from Eastern Michigan University and a Master’s of Arts in Writing from Rowan University.
