Teacher In The Oranges Publishes 1st Poetry Book: ‘Stand Mute’

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A South Orange poet who teaches English at West Orange High School has published his first book of poetry: “Stand Mute.”

Victor Alcindor, a long-time English Language Arts teacher at West Orange High School, said the series of poems has a recurring theme of “abuse,” although it’s more of a recurring motif… he’s a “sucker for adhering to Aristotelian Mimesis.”

“I teach prose and poetry because I love reading it, and I want other people to feel comfortable investigating it,” Alcindor said.

The Essex County resident said that his interest in literature stems from an interest in other people’s experiences of life.

“To me, it matters a great deal how other people perceive the world and their place in it, and how their speech encodes—often with such astonishing density—those amalgamated experiences and interpretations,” Alcindor explained. “Were it not for literature, I suspect we would hunger even more for honest characterizations of life.”

Alcindor gave some insight as to why he chose the theme of “abuse”:

“I can’t say that I was prompted to write about abuse as writing poetry is an organic experience for me and it seemed that abuse, in some capacity, surfaced as a recurring motif, theme, and/or symbolically in many of my narrative poems… I’m a sucker for adhering to Aristotelian Mimesis because the art that moves/speaks/resonates with me the most is art that imitates life.”

According to the West Orange Public School District, Alcindor received his Bachelors in English & Education from The College of New Jersey in 2000, a Masters in Criminal Justice from Rutgers University (2006), and a Doctorate in Arts & Letters from Drew University (2013). He just completed his 18th year of teaching in the West Orange Public Schools, first teaching 8th Grade English at Roosevelt Middle School. For the past 14 years he has taught every ELA course offered in the English Department.

He currently teaches College Prep Survey of American Literature, Honors Survey of American Literature and SAT Prep.

Alcindor lives in South Orange with his wife Kiana and two children. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family and playing tennis.

To order “Stand Mute” click here.

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Photo courtesy of West Orange Public Schools

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