Poetic Obituaries: A self-described "counter cultural" artist,

[Maxine "Maggie"] Jaffe's poetry explored political and social injustice, including the plight of Native Americans, Vietnam veterans and the incarcerated. In addition to her publications, her poetry was honored with awards and grants, including the California Arts Council Grant in 1998 and a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Grant in 2009, to which she applied for 30 years before winning.

In her published response to winning the NEA grant, Jaffe described how her years in Guatemala, and subsequent exposure to Latin American poets, demonstrated that "poetry is not an intellectual exercise alone, but the reality that (the poets) lived."

from La Mesa Patch: Maggie Jaffe, Candid SDSU Instructor and Published Poet, 62

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