There he worked alongside colleagues Bob Kessler, Jade D'Aquilarive "JD" Benson (born Denice Joan Deitch), Julia Thacker, playwright Andrea Hairston, fiction writer Alex Londres (life partner of attorney Geoffrey Bowers; see movie Philadelphia) and others, in workshops and readings.
[3] He attended the Masters program with the support of mentor Keith Waldrop who ultimately connected him to the Burning Deck community of poets and artists.
They purchased a home in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, where he worked for seven years as an arborist and tree surgeon in southeastern New England to support his family.
At this time he was married to his second wife, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) graduate and collage artist, Barbieo (Barros).
He authored over ten books of poetry, including: Bird As, Avis, Species of Intoxication, New Depths of Deadpan, My Terza Rima and No Both.
In early 2000, Gizzi collaborated with Craig Watson (whom he met for the first time in 1976 at the Waldrops' home) to open the publishing company Qua Books.