Downtown Lower Manhattan: A Poem

In the wake of the September 11th attacks, James Pelletier volunteered at Ground Zero for several months in the “Return to Normalcy” effort. He worked with Wall Street businesses and organizations to involve the community in an Art project and a poetry reading. After returning home, he wrote "Downtown Lower Manhattan." President Carter, the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and others have praised the work. It is the only poem in the history of Massachusetts to be recognized by the House of Representatives and the Senate. Ken Burns, Pete Seeger, and Kitty Carlisle Hart are among those who have recorded Pelletier’s homage to historic New York. He has organized annual readings of the names of the September 11th victims since 2002.