Berks Bards

March 1, 2012 6 pm First Thursday at the Cucina Cafe in the GoggleWorks

2012-02-28T18:44:00.001-05:00

First Thursday Poetry ~ March 1st at 6:00 pm

Berks Bards Presents...Marilyn L.T. Klimcho and Patrick Klimcho

Cucina Cafe' at the GoggleWorks, 201 Washington ST, Reading

Open Mic

This event is free and open to the public. Bring friends. Bring poems. Bring your friends' poems.

Liz Stanley
~Berks Bards
zilabets@hotmail.com
Follow us on Facebook: Berks Bards
Twitter: @bardsofberks
Blog: www.berksbards.blogspot.com

BIO

Marilyn L.T. Klimcho is a writer of both poetry and fiction, and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2012 for her short story "Lost Gems" published in the Schuylkill Valley Journal. She has read at the Manayunk/Roxborough Art Center and has offered writing workshops at Alvernia University and Abraxas Academy. Marilyn is a member and treasurer of Berks Bards.

Patrick Klimcho writes poetry, especially creative satires, and fiction. His political satires are bold and biting, and he loves the language of medieval castle architecture, often playing with parodies on Middle English. Patrick is editing a new work of fiction about the Napoleonic Era. And he can melt your heart with poems about his grandsons.

2012-02-28T18:32:00.003-05:00

Berks Bards presents...Marilyn L.T. Klimcho and Patrick Klimcho for First Thursday Poetry at 6:00 pm on March 1st at the Cucina Cafe' in the GoggleWorks, 201 Washington St, Reading, PA. Open Mic. Free event. Bring friends. Bring poems. Bring your friends' poems.

Marilyn L.T. Klimcho is a writer of both poetry and fiction, and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2012 for her short story "Lost Gems" published in the Schuylkill Valley Journal. She has read at the Manayunk/Roxborough Art Center and has offered writing workshops at Alvernia University and Abraxas Academy. Marilyn is a member and treasurer of Berks Bards.

Patrick Klimcho writes poetry, especially creative satires, and fiction. His political satires are bold and biting, and he loves the language of medieval castle architecture, often playing with parodies on Middle English. Patrick is editing a new work of fiction about the Napoleonic Era. And he can melt your heart with poems about his grandsons.

Poetry at Six: "Liberty's Vigil: Occupy Anthology"

2012-02-14T12:04:00.006-05:00

Join us Wednesday, February 15, 6 pm at Reading Area Community College, Reading, PA, for live poetry and book launch of Liberty's Vigil: Occupy Anthology~ 99 poets among the 99%, published by Foothills Publishing Co, Kanona, NY. Featured poets are Elizabeth Bodien, Craig Czury, and Heather Thomas. Open Mic. The event is free and open to the public. Location is Berks-Penn Rooms, RACC, 10 South Second St, Reading, PA, 19603. Phone 610-607-6239.

Jewell Brown, student at RACC, will present a recitation of excerpts from a speech by Frederick Douglass. Brown is a winner in the 2012 Norton Anthology Student Video Contest.

For more information, call 610-607-6239, Foundation for RACC.

February 2, 2012 6 pm First Thursday at the Cucina Cafe in the GoggleWorks featuring Jodi Corbett and Lorah Hopkins

2012-02-01T08:14:00.001-05:00

Celebrate Groundhog Day with the Berks Bards!

First Thursday Poetry at the GoggleWorks, Cucina Cafe'

Thursday, February 2, 2012 ~ 6:00 pm

JODI CORBETT & LORAH HOPKINS

Open Mic

This event is free and open to the public. Sponsored by Berks Bards,
with a grant from the PA Partners in the Arts, administered locally by the
Berks Arts Council.

January 5, 2012 6 pm FirstThursday at Cucina Cafe in the GoggleWorks featuring Elizabeth Bodien and Lauren Haymore

2012-01-04T20:40:00.002-05:00

Celebrate First Thursday Poetry with Berks Bards!

Thursday, January 5, 2012 ~ 6:00 pm

The Cucina Cafe' at the GoggleWorks
201 Washington ST, Reading

ELIZABETH BODIEN ~ poet
http://www.elizabethbodien.com

LAUREN HAYMORE ~ singer/songwriter
http://www.laurenhaymore.com/

Open Mic + Book signing

December 1, 2011 6 pm First Thursday at the GoggleWorks Featuring poet Deborah Filanowski

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You are invited!

Join us for a holiday celebration of First Thursday Poetry

December 1, 2011 ~ 6:00 pm

The Cucina Cafe' at the GoggleWorks
201 Washington St, Reading

DEBORAH FILANOSKI ~ featured poet

Celebrating the 10th Anniversary edition of "...and guppies eat their young," a chapbook by Deborah Filanowski, first published in 2001 by Plan B Press in conjunction with Lancaster Outloud, a poetry festival. The new edition contains old favorites and a few newer poems. Book signing.

Open Mic

This event is free and open to the public, sponsored by the Berks Bards with support from a grant by the PA Partners in the Arts, administered locally by the Berks Arts Council, and with support from the Friends of the Berks County Public Libraries.

Nov 3rd 2011, 6 pm GoggleWorks featuring Jeff Rath

2011-11-01T08:15:00.000-04:00

FIRST THURSDAY POETRY

Thursday, November 3, 2011 ~ 6:00 pm

The GoggleWorks Center for the Arts
201 Washington St, Reading, PA

JEFF RATH is the featured poet

Open Mic

Berks County Premiere of "Film Noir" (2011, Iris G Press) and Book Signing

This event is free and open to the public, sponsored by Berks Bards with a grant from the
PA Partners in the Arts, administered locally by the Berks Arts Council.

Liz Stanley
~Berks Bards

BIO

Jeff Rath won the 2007 R.E. Foundation Award for Outstanding Poetry, and is a Pushcart Prize nominee. His new book is "Film Noir, published in 2011 by Iris G. Press. Rath has published two other books: "The Waiting Room at the End of the World" in 2007, and "In the Shooting Gallery of the Heart" 2009, both published by Iris G Press.

Tuesday Oct. 11, 2011 Poetry Workshop Bernardine Hall Auditorium 3:45 pm Alvernia University featuring Marilyn L.T. Klimcho

2011-10-07T13:34:00.005-04:00

FULL CIRCLE:WRITING COMPELLING POETRY

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11^TH, 2011

Bernardine Hall Auditorium, 3:45-5:15-ish.

You’ve felt it every day of your life. Something happens and you want to write about it, to capture the event and relive it, to share it, or somehow “catch” its unique power in words.

You have stories you want to tell. You are searching for ways to “boil it down” in a way that will rivet your listeners and make them long to turn the page.

Guess what? That is POETRY. You don’t need to “be” a poet to try it!

This “playshop” will show you how to mine your life experiences for stories that can become poems.

Q’s: 610-790-1982

The Alvernia Literary Festival hosts: Marilyn L. T. Klimcho

Marilyn Klimcho is a writer, editor and writing coach who is currently involved with three local writers groups: Berks Bards, Inc., a non-profit for which Marilyn is the treasurer, the Saturday Scribes, also known as Writers Without Borders which meets every Saturday now at the GoggleWorks instead of at Borders and a critique group that meets once a month to tackle longer written works.

Marilyn’s been published in the Reading Eagle, on BCTV’s website and won an honorable mention in the Harrisburg Writer’s Contest for a story she coauthored with her husband Patrick. She’s given many readings and organized many events including the annual BCTV poetry broadcast for the month of April, but more importantly she researches markets, edits and helps other authors to publish.

Oct. 18, 2011 Reading at the Speckled Hen in Reading, PA Doors open at 5 pm, reading starts at 6 pm

2011-10-07T13:16:00.023-04:00

The Greater Reading Literary Festival of 2011

Reading Reads and The Speckled Hen
present an evening of literature with host
Sue Lange
and
Doug Arnold • Awilda Castro • Liz Clark • Elizabeth
Drozda • Mickey Getty • Marilyn Klimcho • Patrick
Klimcho • Donna McLay • Frank Mulligan • Clem
Page • Jennie Rodriguez • Bryan Wang
Date: Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Time: 6 pm (music by Gary M. Celima: 5-6)
Where: The Speckled Hen
30 South 4th Street, Reading, PA
Admission: Free
Food will be available for purchase starting at 5pm.
Come early to get a good seat.
(reservations not required, but maybe a good idea:610-685-8511)

Oct. 21, 2011 Awilda Castro Suarez reading at Bernardine Lecture Hall 2:00 pm Alvernia University

2011-10-07T13:12:00.002-04:00

October 21, 2011 The Alvernia Writers' Series hosts guest poet, writer, and translator Awilda I. Castro Suarez for a presentation of authentic creative works.
Bernardine Hall Lecture Hall, 2:00 p.m.

About the Event
The Alvernia Writers' Series is an open forum for the presentation of authentic creative works. Now in its seventh year under the auspices of Dr. Tom Bierowski, the Alvernia Writers' Series welcomes any and all participants and hopes to keep the Bohemian spirit of personal artistic expression alive and kicking on campus.

The Writers' Series meets one Friday per month at 2:00 p.m. in the Dr. Frank A. Franco Library. For more information contact Dr. Tom Bierowski at thomas.bierowski@alvernia.edu.

About the Guest Poet
Awilda I. Castro Suarez is a writer and translator. Born and raised in Puerto Rico she has a Bachelor's degree in public communications from the University of Puerto Rico and a Master's degree in Spanish journalism from Florida International University. She lives in Reading, Pennsylvania.

Castro Suarez has been published in numerous magazines, such as Off the Coast, Mad Poets, Philadelphia Poets and in book anthologies. Her poem, "Nostalgia at Pennsylvania Dutch Country" won the Editor's Choice in the Sixth Annual Amy Tritsch Needle Award given by the Philadelphia Poets. She is an active member of Berks Bards, organizes writing workshops for different community groups and hosts poetry readings. She has published a book of poetry about immigration titled, Loneliness Country. Castro Suarez is also working on her first novel.

October 6, 2011 6 pm First Thursday in the Cucina Cafe at the GoggleWorks featuring Dustin Nipsel

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Dustin Nipsel is a York poet who has been writing for 7 years and performing for 4 of them. He was a 2010 heavy word poetry slam place winner. At First Thursday Dustin will be accompanied by his musician friend Tom. Dustin combines poetry with rhythmic beats and guitar. Dustin last appeared in Reading at the 100,000 Poets for Change event on Penn Street. Open mic to follow.

Sept 30, 2011 at 7 pm Cafe Harmony Open Mic

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TOMORROW!

Open Mic at Cafe Harmony, West Reading
Friday, Sept. 30, 2011
7pm
Bring your poems, your music, your rants.

October 4, 2011 6 pm at Reading Area Community Collge featuring Edwin Romond

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Poetry at Six ~ The Bruce Stanley Memorial Poetry Series 2011-2012

Tuesday, October 4, 2011, 6:00 pm

Berks-Schuylkill Rooms, Reading Area Community College
10 South Second Street, Reading, PA ~ 610-372-4721

EDWIN ROMOND

Recently published, "Alone with Love Songs," Grayson Press.

Web site: http://www.edwinromond.com/

Open Mic

This event is free and open to the public. Sponsored by the Foundation for RACC and
by Berks Bards, with support from a grant from the PA Partners in the Arts, administered
locally by the Berks Arts Council.

BIO

Edwin Romond is a poet, playwright, composer, and educator. He has written five books of poetry,
two musical plays, and was a public school teacher for 32 years in Wisconsin and New Jersey.
His work has appeared in numerous literary journals, college text books and anthologies,
and has been featured on National Public Radio.

Sept 24, 2011 100,000 Poets for Change 11 am to 7 pm on Penn Street in Reading

2011-09-22T20:29:00.001-04:00

Poetry! Music! Dancing in the street! Food to fill your soul!

Celebration of 100 Thousand Poets for Change & Street Music Festival Reading ~ FREE!

YOU ARE INVITED

Saturday, September 24, 2011

11:00 am - 7:00 pm

645 Penn Street, Reading, PA 19601

Three stages with continuous performances of poets, musicians, artists, dancers, bands.
Open mic stage available throughout the day.

Schedule, directions, vendors, sponsors posted at http://www.iartreading.org/

Kinetic Poetry on Sept. 24, 2011 7 PM Albright College Theater for the Arts

2011-09-08T07:16:00.002-04:00

KINETIC POETRY brings Breathtaking Acrobatics and Slam Poetry to Reading

Albright College, Reading, PA: On September 24, 2011, 7pm, at the Theater for the Arts at Albright College, Berks Bards will play host to a radically new type of performance art called KINETIC POETRY. This unique art form features breathtaking circus-style acrobatics (artistic pole dancing, acrobatic yoga, hooping) against a backdrop of aggressive slam poetry.

For the upcoming event, the Bards have invited premier dancer/acrobats from all over eastern U.S. Top acts include Christine & Lex of Acrobatic Yoga, featured on NBC’s America's Got Talent, Rachel Skye featured on VH1’s Dance Cam Slam, Ryssa, finalist in Polesque, New York City’s national pole art competition and Danielle Licata of Maji Na Bure Hoopdance.

“I am so ecstatic to have these talented performers come to Reading for this unique event,” says performer Rachel Skye. “It will give us a chance to showcase the beauty behind this incredibly athletic and breathtaking sport.”

Accompanying the dance performances will be the voices of some of America’s best award-winning slam poets including Egedeme, winner of the Peoples Choice Poet of Harrisburg, PA, Youngsta Boyd from Miami, Reagan Rigz Mendoza from Chicago, Vision from Philadelphia, and Noah Ayala from Reading.

"I’m very excited about this event,” Egedeme says. “I have been doing poetry for quite some time and I have never been part of a show quite like this. The diversity is what makes it special. Poets and Dancers...its like Cirque du Soleil meets Def Poets."

KINETIC POETRY will be sponsored by Tite Grip and X-Pole. Tite Grip is a top quality antiperspirant grip aide widely used by athletes from the Olympics down to the high school level. X-Pole is the leading manufacturer of fitness poles in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. They will be donating a SPORT (XS) — Professional Grade Stationary Pole to raffle off during the KINETIC POETRY event.

MC’s for the evening will be singer/actor/poet Alaina Salks and author Sue Lange.

Tickets are $13 in advance and $15 (cash only) at the doors ($12 for students with ID). Tickets are available at Shoo! (610 Penn Ave, West Reading), It's All the Rage Hair Salon (1213 Penn Ave, West Reading]) and Mi Casa Su Casa Cafe (320 Penn Street, Reading). Tickets are also available online at Brown Paper Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com. Call 610-374-1161 or 610-207-0120 if you have questions.

Berks Bards is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote poetry in Berks County, Pennsylvania. This event is one of several new events the Bards are bringing to Berks County. Earlier this year, the Bards participated in a baseball poetry contest with the Reading Phillies which brought poets Elizabeth Clark, Gretchen Rothermel and Randy Boone to the public’s attention.

“The Bards are also featuring poet Lynn Levin as part of the 100,000 Poets initiative in downtown Reading on the same day,” said Marilyn Klimcho, Berks Bard’s treasurer. “We’re reaching out to as wide an audience as possible.”

Kinetic Poetry Location:

Albright College Theater for the Arts

13th and Bern Streets

Reading, PA 19612

Parking is available in the visitor’s parking lot and street.

http://www.albright.edu/about/campustour/map.html

Fourth Friday August 26th, 2011 Open Mic at Cafe Harmony 7 pm

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Join Awilda I. Castro Suarez at Cafe Harmony in West Reading for an open mic this Friday beginning at 7 pm. Hope to see you there!

Batter Up Baseball Poetry Contest Reading August 3rd 2011

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Join the Bards at First Energy Stadium at approximately 6:30 PM and hear the winners of the Berks Bards Baseball Poetry Contest read the winning poems.

Following the game, at approximately 9:30 PM, hear the RDG Hip Hop Summit perform on the deck. Bring your baseball poems for a bit of an open mic as well.

Batter Up Poetry Contest and the Reading Phillies

2011-07-15T20:13:00.001-04:00

BATTER UP FOR POETRY! CONTEST

Berks Bards and the Reading Phillies are sponsoring a Baseball Poetry Contest for poets and writers in Berks County to celebrate the sport of baseball and the R-Phils this summer.

Winner will be invited to read their poem at an intermission during the R-Phils game on Wednesday, August 3, 2011.

Submit a poem by email to zilabets@hotmail.com, or by mail to Berks Bards, 16 Bentley Court, Reading, PA 19601.

Deadline for entries is Wednesday, July 27th. Winners will be notified by phone or by email by July 31st.

Contest Rules:
1. Each entrant may submit only one poem.
2. Topic of the poem is baseball: the sport, history or love of baseball.
3. Decision of the judges is final.
4. Deadline for submission is Wednesday, July 27, 2011.
5. Include your name, address, phone number, and email address.
6. Submitted poems will not be returned. Keep a copy for yourself.
7. Contest is open to anyone, ages 12 and up.

For more information, contact Liz at zilabets@hotmail.com or Marilyn at 610-610-374-1161.

Liz Stanley
~Berks Bards
zilabets@hotmail.com
Facebook: Berks Bards
Twitter: @bardsofberks
Blog: berksbards.blogspot.com

June 2nd, 2011 6 pm poets Blackford, Dixon and Denis read at the Cucina Cafe in the GoggleWorks

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Welcome, Summer!

First Thursday Poetry on June 2, 2011

The Cucina Cafe' ~ The GoggleWorks Center for the Arts
201 Washington St, Reading, PA

6:00 to 8:00 pm

Anne Blackford, Carol F. Dixon, Jude-Laure Denis

Open Mic to follow

This event is free and open to the public. Sponsored by Berks Bards, with support from a grant from the PA Partners in the Arts,
funded by an appropriation of the State Legislature, and administered locally by the Berks Arts Council, PA Council for the Arts.

May 5th, 2011 6 pm Ed Romond at the Cucina Cafe in the GoggleWorks

2011-05-02T20:39:00.002-04:00

Join Berks Bards in welcoming:

Edwin Romond, whose latest book is Dream Teaching (Grayson Books,

2005). His work has appeared in journals such as The Sun, English Journal,

The Pittsburgh Quarterly, Zone 3, Poet Lore, New Letters, Barrow Street,

The Rockhurst Review as well as in college texts and anthologies. Romond

has been awarded poetry fellowships from the National Endowment for the

Arts, and from both the New Jersey and Pennsylvania State Councils on the

Arts. He was named “Poet Laureate” of the Easton, PA Riverview Arts

Festival and “Poet of the Month” in January for the Your Daily Poem

website. In addition, Garrison Keillor read Romond’s poetry on NPR and

the late Tim Russert selected Romond’s memoir, “The Ticket,” for his best

selling book, Wisdom of Our Fathers. Last year he was invited to read at the

prestigious Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival, a four day gathering in

Newark, NJ.

Before retiring in 2003, Romond was a public school teacher for 32

years in Wisconsin and New Jersey. He now lives in Wind Gap, PA with his

wife, Mary, and their son, Liam.

April 20,2011, 7 pm Susan Deer Cloud at the Freyberger Art Gallery at Penn State Berks Campus

2011-03-21T20:18:00.004-04:00

Native American Poet Susan Deer Cloud is the featured reader at the Freyberger Art Gallery in the Perkins Student Center at Penn State's Berks Campus on April 20th at 7 pm. For details contact Jayne Brown by email at jrb30@psu.edu or by phone at 610-396-6041. This event is free and open to the public.

April 14, 2011, 7:30 pm Poet A. V. Christie joins host Doug Arnold on BCTV for Poets' Pause

2011-03-21T20:13:00.005-04:00

Tune in to Poets' Pause on Berks Community Television as Host Doug Arnold features poet A. V. Christie at 7:30 pm on Comcast, Channel 13 or Service Electric, Channel 19.

April 14, 2011 6:30 pm at Mifflin Community Library with DaVonna Smith, state winner of a recitation contest

2011-03-21T19:54:00.008-04:00

Join Berks Bards in welcoming DaVonna Smith, state winner of a poetry recitation contest, at the Mifflin Community Library, 6 Philadelphia Ave., Shillington at 6:30 pm for a poetry recitation followed by an open microphone.

April 14, 2011, 1 pm Berks County Poet Laureate Craig Czury at the Jewish Cultural Center of Reading

2011-03-21T19:48:00.004-04:00

Join Berks County Poet Laureate Craig Czury for a 1 pm luncheon followed by a poetry presentation at the Jewish Cultural Center of Reading, 1100 Berkshire Blvd., Wyomissing. Lunch is $7.50. The poetry presentation, which begins at 1:45 pm is free and open to the public. For luncheon reservations please contact Jayne Kleinmann by April 8 at 610-921-0624.

April 13, 2011 4 pm Berks County Poet Laureate Craig Czury Kutztown University Rohrbach Library

2011-03-21T19:43:00.005-04:00

Berks County Poet Laureate Craig Czury will give a poetry reading at the Rohrbach Library, Room 100 B at Kuztown University's Voices and Choices Center at 4 pm. For details call 610-683-4766. The reading is open to the public.

April 9, 2011 9:30 am to 4:30 pm Painting and Poetry Workshop with dance therapist Janna Grobel at the First Unitarian Universalist Church in Reading

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Join Berks Bards at 9:30 am for a day-long workshop with Dance Therapist Joanna V. Grobel at the First Universalist Unitarian Church, 416 Franklin Street in Reading. Space is limited for the Touching the Source: Painting, Poetry and the Body. Call 610-370-2629 for reservations and details by April 2nd.

April 7, 2011, 6 pm First Thursday in BardFest 2011 features Lisa Alexander Baron and Bill Van Buskirk at the GoggleWorks Cucina Cafe

2011-03-21T08:22:00.005-04:00

Join Berks Bards in welcoming local poets Lisa Alexander Baron and Bill Van Buskirk for a poetry reading at the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts in Reading. An open microphone follows the couple's performance.

April 6th, 2011 at 6 pm Michael London at RACC releases a CD inspired by the poetry of Rumi

2011-03-21T08:17:00.003-04:00

Poet and musician Micheal London will read and perform selections from his new CD "The Field" inspired by the poetry of Rumi, the 13th century Persian Sufi mystic. This is event is sponsored by the Foundation for RACC and will be held in Berks Hall in the Berks-Penn Rooms with an open mic to follow.

April 4, 2011 at 7 pm Macedonian poet Nikola Madzirov will be at Albright College in Teel Hall

2011-03-21T08:11:00.003-04:00

Bard Fest 2011 kicks off National Poetry Month with Nikola Madzirov from Macedonia. Madzirov will read in the Kachel Chapel in Teel Hall, Albright College, 13th and Union Streets in Reading. This event is open to the public and is sponsored by the "Experience" at Albright College and by Berks Bards. For further information contact Craig Czury at 610-207-4321.

April 1-30, 2011 Watch BCTV for glimpses of the Poem-a-Day broadcast

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During the entire month of April Berks Community Television will air a poem a day between regular programming. Check it out on Comcast, Channel 13 or Service Electric, Channel 19. Nineteen regional and local poets will read a short poem each day.

March 3rd, 2011 First Thurdsay from 6 to 7:30 pm at the Cucina Cafe in the GoggleWorks, Reading

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Berks Bards presents award winning poet Catherine Rittenhouse Good.

Please join the Bards in welcoming the poet who has repeatedly dominated the Encore Poet Awards at this, her second appearance at a Bard sponsored event.

Discover for yourself Catherine's gentle humor, turn of phrase and insight.

As always, the featured poet will be followed by an open microphone.

April 9, 2011 BardFest Workshop 9:30 -4:30 at Unitarian Universalist Church, 416 Franklin Street in Reading

2011-01-30T18:20:00.007-05:00

Joanna V. Groebel presents:

Touching the Source; Painting, Poetry and the Body.
April 9, 2011 9:30-4:30
Unitarian Universalist Church of Berks County

In this workshop, we will woo ourselves into our bodies through gentle movement, and allow ourselves to be a vehicle of expression for Divine Creation in all its infinite variety through an intuitive painting process. Painting is feeling liquified--there is no right or wrong way to do it, no "good" paintings...There is only your truth. Immersion in this painting/moving process is deeply spiritual, and physically, and emotionally nourishing and full of surprises. No experience is necessary to join in. Participants should wear loose layered clothing they would feel comfortable moving in and would not mind getting messy. Please pack a bag lunch and nutritious snacks for yourself.

Space is limited to 11 participants. Please RSVP to Jennifer Gittings-Dalton by phone at 610-370-2629 or by email at jgittingsd@verizon.net

by April 5th.

February 3rd, 2011 First Thursday poetry reading and open mic 6 to 8 pm at the Cucina Cafe in the GoggleWorks featuring Zoe Mintz

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Zoe Mintz is a senior at Conrad Weiser High School. She plans to attend the Pratt Institute in New York City next fall, where she will major in Creative Writing. Her prose poem, "The Sun and My Love" has been published in Pennsylvania's Celebration of Young Poets Anthology.

She considers writing as necessary as breathing, and therefore regularly journals and posts her ideas, musings, and poetry on her blog, Whispers in the Mist. She is grateful for her incredible experiences which have provided her with the inspiration for her stories and poems.

January 6, 2011 First Thursday Poetry Open Mic 6 to 8 pm Cucina Cafe at the GoggleWorks

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Join us for FIRST THURSDAY POETRY at the GoggleWorks

Thursday, January 6, 2011

6:00 pm at the Cucina Cafe' (1st Floor)

Theme: Questions That Really Matter

Open Mic

This event is free and open to the public. Sponsored by Berks Bards, with support from a grant from the PA Partners in the Arts, funded annually by the PA State Legislature, and administered locally by the Berks Arts Council. Additional support from the Friends of the Berks County Libraries, and from members and friends of Berks Bards.

Questions That Really Matter

Do ladybugs dance? Do lightning bugs thunder?
Do crickets ever sneeze? Does a toad's mind wander?
Do owls ever smile? Do they tuck their ears under?
I wonder, I wonder, I wonder.

What are you grateful for?

What do you want to do before you die?

December 2nd, 2010 First Thursday Poetry Reading 6 to 8 pm in the Cucina Cafe at the GoggleWorks featuring Christopher Sohnly and Scott Shingle

2010-11-29T10:44:00.011-05:00

Join Berks Bards on Thursday for an evening of poetry with Christopher Sohnly and his friend Scott Shingle, father of an electronic musician/composer daughter. Christopher and Scott have teamed up to present a slide show with music and poetry.

As a switch, the open microphone portion of the program will lead off, followed by our featured reader and performer beginning at 7pm.

Christopher Sohnly has been writing poetry since the 1970s and is deeply thankful for the past 15 years of sobriety and for the insights of Buddhism. His friend Scott Shingle works as a computer technician.

October 7, 2010 First Thursday Poetry Reading 6 to8 pm in the Cucina Cafe at the GoggleWorks Featuring Michael London and Lisa DeVuono-Songs of Rumi

2010-10-05T09:34:00.009-04:00

Please join Berks Bards in welcoming husband and wife team Michael London and Lisa DeVuono and an evening of Songs of Rumi:

Michael London performs in concerts, at workshops and conferences, and in support of sacred rituals. He is also a teacher of leadership, organizational behavior, creativity and management at Muhlenberg College. Michael London's CD released on the LuxMusica label, is inspired by the deeply moving, transcendental poetry of Rumi, the 13th century Persian Sufi mystic.

Read what people had to say after his performance at the Sedgewick Theater!

I wanted to let you know that on rare occasions, I have time to relax and contemplate life. Yesterday found me in that state, mostly because I played your Rumi in Song CD in the player. It's the first time I had to really listen through and it is absolutely BEAUTIFUL, mesmerizing. WOW. There are no words to best describe it. ---Lizanne Knott

Your concert was a millennial celebration...If extraordinary vibes were gold you'd be driving a fleet of BMWs. People gathered from every corner, it seemed, every stripe and disposition, and the sweet songs hugged us all closer. Thank you. More concerts, more concerts! ---Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore

I heard Michael's music for the first time on WXPN (Gene Shay's show) and was blown away by the ways in which he wove the exquisite poetry of Rumi with his own inspired musical creations. Hearing him in concert less than a week later, the intensity of the passion and magic increased 100-fold. Sitting in the audience, surrounded by souls listening with rapt attention, I was moved with a certainty that the poet himself was whispering in Michael's ear throughout the performance. At turns, deeply peaceful and vibrantly energetic. What a gift! Thank you for shaing it with us. ---Edie Moser

Lisa DeVuono is a poet and workshop facilitator living in the Lehigh Valley. She was the co-founder of IT AIN’T PRETTY, a women’s writing collective that has performed in a variety of places including bookstores, cafes, and on radio. She has facilitated writing workshops and creative events in a variety of places including conferences, festivals, prison, retreats, hospital and business settings. She has also been a group facilitator and creativity coach for the Artist Conference Network, a nationwide coaching community for artists of all kinds. Her poetry has been published in several literary reviews. Her chapbook, published by Pudding House Press, is entitled “Poems from the Playground of Risk.” And she co-facilitates workshops and performances with her husband for the CD titled The Soul Wakes: Rumi in Song.

September 1st, 2010 First Thursday Poetry Reading 6 to 8 pm Cucina Cafe in the GoggleWorks Featuring Sorina Higgins

2010-09-01T07:44:00.005-04:00

Thursday night join Berks Bards in welcoming poet Sorina Higgins.

Sorina Higgins is an adjunct faculty member in English at Lehigh Carbon Community College. She has published one poetry chapbook, The Significance of Swans (Finishing Line Press), and has a full-length MS looking for a publisher. Her poetry and other writing has appeared in several journals, including Comment, Radix, Stillpoint, Relief, Studio and Windhover. She is the Book Review Editor of Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Magazine about blogs about the arts and faith at http://iambicadmonit.blogspot.com. She holds an M.A. from Middlebury College's Bread Loaf School of English. Sorina and her husband live in Kutztown, PA, in a home they built themselves.

August 2010 First Thursday Poetry

2010-08-03T12:38:00.003-04:00

Celebrate August Eve with Berks Bards at First Thursday Poetry, 6:00 pm on August 5th, at the Cucina Cafe', The GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, 201 Washington St, Reading, PA. Featured poets are ELIZABETH BODIEN from Kempton, PA, and CORTNEY BLEDSOE from Baltimore, MD. Open mic to follow. For more information, call 610-207-0120 or email zilabets@hotmail.com.

Find Berks Bards on Facebook: Berks Bards
Follow us on Twitter: @bardsofberks

October 5, 2010 Boscov's Friends Helping Friends Fundraiser

2010-07-21T17:54:00.004-04:00

Purchase your 25% off shopping pass from a Berks Bards member for $5.00 before October 5th and support the Bards financially as well as go shopping at Boscov's on October 5th, Friends Helping Friends Day. Please see the shopping pass for exceptions.

All of the proceeds from this sale benefits Berks Bards, a non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging poetry.

July 1st, 2010, 6 to 8 pm at the Cucina Cafe in the GoggleWorks featuring Doug Arnold.

2010-06-29T19:18:00.004-04:00

Meet and greet Doug Arnold, first place winner of this year's Philadelphia Writer's Conference poetry competition. Doug will be reading his winning poem and other selections followed by an open microphone.

April 30th 2010, 5 to 7 pm at the Dance Studio in Mount Penn featuring Asian Pears, a pear wine tasting and Asian Poetry

2010-03-18T07:35:00.003-04:00

Relax with Berks Bards at the Dance Studio, 2237 Howard Boulevard, Mount Penn, PA and enjoy a pear-wine tasting, desserts made with Asian pears, paired with Asian poetry and an open microphone. Reservations are suggested. Call 610-370-2629 or email Jen at jgittingsd@verizon.net to secure your place.

For more information on Asian pears go to www.wonderfulfruit.com and for information on Asian pear wines go to www.winesofsubarashii.com.

April 29th, 2010 6:30 pm at the Outsiders Folk Art Gallery in the GoggleWorks featuring Craig Czury

2010-03-18T07:28:00.002-04:00

Be there to welcome poet Craig Czury to the Outsiders Folk Art Gallery on the fifth floor of the GoggleWorks, 201 Washington Street, Reading PA. The reading will be followed by a book signing.

April 25th, 2010 noon to 2 pm at the GoggleWorks Theater featuring Eleanor Wilner

2010-03-18T07:18:00.003-04:00

Join Berks Bards in welcoming award-winning poet Eleanor Wilner at the GoggleWorks Theater, first floor, 201 Washington Street, Reading, PA for a reading, question and answer session and a book signing. Reservations are suggested. Call 610-777-0863 or email Liz at zilabets@hotmail.com.

Eleanor Wilner (nee Rand) was born in Ohio in 1937 and holds an inderdepartmental Ph.D. from John Hopkins University. She has published six collections of poems, most recently The Girl with Bees in Her Hair (Cooper Canyon,2004); Reversing the Spell: New and Selected Poems(1998); and Otherwise (University of Chicago, 1993)). Her other works include a verse translation of Euripides's Medea (Penn Greek Series, 1998); and a book on visionary imagination; Gathering the Winds (John Hopkins Press, 1975). Her work has appeared in over thirty anthologies, including Best American Poetry 1990 and The Norton Anthology of Poetry (Fourth Edition). A new book, Tourist in Hell, is forthcoming from Copper Canyon in Fall 2010.

About Wilner's work, the poet Tony Hoagland has said, "Wilner...has a deep and heroic belief in the transformative power of language and myth. She paddles her surfboard outside the reef where most poets stop; she rides the big waves."

Wilner has been the recipient of numerous awards, including fellowships from the MacArthur Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Juniper Prize, and two Pushcart Prizes. Former editor of The American Poetry Review, she is currently an Advisory Editor of Calyx. She has taught, most recently, at the University of Chicago, Northwestern, and Smith College. She is currently on the faculty of the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College, and lives in Philadelphia.
(biography modified from The Academy of American Poets www.poets.org)

April 24th, 2010 1-4:30pm Wing Pointe in Hamburg featuring a poetry workshop with Randy Boone and an exploration of perfume with Mark David Boberick

2010-03-17T08:11:00.007-04:00

Did you know it can take upwards of 200,000 rose petals to make enough oil for one bottle of Perfume? Or that the secretions of a certain African feline is one of the key ingredients in some of the most legendary fragrances ever created? Or that Marilyn Monroe’s mentioning that she wears Chanel No.5 and nothing else to bed is thought by many to be the reason for its success?

This workshop celebrates the Art of Perfumery and the words that are inspired by our sense of smell. Guests will learn about the history of perfume, the different ingredients that make up its composition, and will smell firsthand legendary perfumes as well as rare and vintage fragrances and the stories behind some of the most famous perfumes ever created. As you are moved by the scents, you will have time to write about your olfactory experiences.

Join Berks Bards for a Poetry and Perfume Workshop at the Wing Pointe Conference Center, 1414 Moselem Springs Road in Hamburg. Poet and teacher Randy Boone will lead a poetry workshop in conjunction with an exploration of the ingredients of perfume led by Mark David Boberick.

Randy Boone hails from Hellertown, Pennsylvania and teaches at Northampton Community College’s Monroe Campus. He can often be found lurking about coffee shops, thrift stores, the Las Vegas Strip, professional wrestling websites, and outdoors betwixt the local flora and fauna. His most recent publications include poems in Spout, Glimpse, Lehigh Valley Literary Review, English Journal, Connecticut River Review, Clark Street Review, and Epicenter, among other relatively obscure journals, reviews and magazines, and a chapbook of poems titled Ignoble Daydreams for Impudent Minds from Violent Publications.

Mark David Boberick is an Interior and Theatrical Designer who lives in Cape May, NJ. Originally from the Wyoming Valley, Mark has loved fragrances for as long as he can remember and started collecting them since he was 12 years old. Mark has been a writer for SniffapaloozaMagazine.com, an online fragrance journal since 2007 where he has written reviews and interviewed perfume luminaries such as Chandler Burr, Neil Morris, and Michael Edwards. He has also been published in Men’s Health Australia. Mark enjoys visiting museums, attending the opera and the theatre, and is devoted to Greyhound Rescue Organizations.

Reservations are $25 in advance, $30 at the door. Please send payments to Marilyn Klimcho, 16 Bentley Court, Reading, PA 19601 or call 610-374-1161.

April 22, 2010 6:30 pm at Mifflin Community Library featuring Catherine Rittenhouse Good, Virginia Stefan and Edward Morrison

2010-03-17T08:04:00.002-04:00

Join Berks Bards in welcoming Catherine Rittenhouse Good, Virginia Stefan and Edward Morrison, all local poetry contest winners. Mifflin Community Library is located at 6 Philadelphia Avenue in Shillington. An open microphone follows the reading.

April 15th, 2010 6:30-8:30 at Clay on Main featuring winners of the Poet's Wall Contest

2010-03-17T07:59:00.004-04:00

Join Berks Bards at the Half Moon Cafe in Clay on Main, 313 Main Street in Oley, for a reading by the winners of the Poet's Wall Contest. The reading will be followed by an open microphone.

April 11, 2010 from 11:30 until 2 pm in room 411 at the GoggleWorks for Poetry Publishers Showcase

2010-03-17T07:45:00.004-04:00

Join Berks Bards on Second Sunday at the GoggleWorks where featured poets from FootHills Publishing Co., Plan B Press and Paper Kite Press will read, followed by a book signing.

April 6th, 2010 at 7 pm poetry reading at West Lawn-Wyomissing HIlls Library featuring John Yamrus

2010-03-17T07:39:00.002-04:00

Join Berks Bards in welcoming John Yamrus to BardFest 2010. An open microphone and book signing follow the reading.

April 6th, 2010, 6 pm in the Berks-Penn Rooms at Reading Area Community College featuring Argentinian poets Esteban Charpentier and Griselda Garcia

2010-03-17T07:31:00.004-04:00

Join Berks Bards in welcoming Esteban Charpentier and Griselda Garcia to the Bruce Stanley Memorial reading series, Poetry at Six. An open microphone and book signing follow the readings.

April 1st , 2010 First Thursday 6 pm at the Cucina Cafe in the GoggleWorks featuring Berks County Poet Laureate Heather Thomas

2010-03-14T17:48:00.001-04:00

Dr. Heather H. Thomas is an award winning poet and professor of English at Kutztown University where she has taught since 1988. She earned her B.A. in English from the University of Pennsylvania and her M.A. In English/Creative Writing from Temple University. Her Ph. D. was also earned at Temple. Thomas is the author of seven books of poetry including her most recent work, Blue Ruby. Some of her works have been translated into Spanish and published in Argentina. Her work has appeared in the anthology Common Wealth: Contemporary Poets on Pennsylvania and in more than thirty print and online journals including American Letters and Commentary, Chain, 13^th Moon, and mid)rib. Thomas is an associate poetry editor for the online magazine 5Trope and has published literary criticism, journalism as well as fiction and non-fiction essays. She has given readings in Argentina, Ireland and Russia as well as traveled the United States. She has won awards from the Academy of American Poets, the Gertrude Stein Awards in Innovative American Poetry and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Currently Thomas is serving as Berks County's Poet Laureate. Following the reading will be a book signing and an open microphone.

BardFest 2010 on Berks Community Television for the entire month of April

2010-03-08T07:19:00.005-05:00

Throughout the entire month of April catch one-minute poems between programming on Berks Community Television by the following poets: Heather Thomas, Craig Czury, Lorah Hopkins, Egedeme, Barbara Cassidy, Elizabeth Stanley, Michael Clipman, Ruth Martelli reading a poem by her daughter Elizabeth Martelli, Emily Whittle, Irv Westerfer, Jennifer Gittings-Dalton, Lynnel Jones, Michele Swigart-Uhrich, Doug Arnold, Nancy Knoblauch, Elizabeth Bodien, Lester Hirsh, Awilda Castro-Suarez, Patrick Klimcho and Marilyn L.T. Klimcho.

March 4th, First Thursday 6 pm at the Cucina Cafe in the GoggleWorks featuring Ed Terrell

2010-03-02T07:01:00.010-05:00

Ed Terrell is a local artist from Reading, Pennsylvania. He was born in Philadelphia but came to Reading when he was six years old. He went to elementary school right up the street from the GoggleWorks—Lauers Park. Art has been a big part of his life, he says. "Ever since I can remember—even going back to the sixth grade. Even in school I was entering in contests and stuff like that. The reason I mention Lauers Park is that recently we had a dedication of a piece of my artwork there. We donated it to the school. I was there for that dedication, and it was so emotional for me because I started out there in that school and never thought a piece of my art work would be there in that lobby."

Ed Terrell left Reading in 1970 and went out west to California. From there he went to Europe. He stayed over in Europe and then went on to Asia and Africa for about thirty years. He just recently came back about ten years ago. He's lived off his art all of his life. It was painting, sculpture, or crafts—whatever he felt like doing. "I’ve lived off my creativity. I owe that to my perseverance. Art is not an easy profession, but I felt I needed to stick with it because it made me feel good. It was something coming from me. It was something I could control. Even with the ups and downs of the so-called starving artist I’ve stayed with this and till this day I’m very thankful that I did."

Ed Terrell is the president and art director ACOR. For more information, visit www.acor-pa.org

First Thursday February 4th - Beth Phillips Brown

2010-02-02T07:46:00.005-05:00

February 4th 2010 at 6 p.m.

The Cucina Cafe at the GoggleWorks, 201 Washington ST, Reading PA
Featured poet is BETH PHILLIPS BROWN
Open mic to follow

Beth Phillips Brown is a poet and storyteller who carries her Welsh and Celtic ancestors’ oral traditions through two languages, English and Welsh. A fluent Welsh speaker, a teaching artist and a 2002 PCA Folk Arts Performing Traditions fellowship recipient, she aspires to the calling of cyfarwydd, the Welsh word for bard and tradition-bearer. Her most recent chapbook, Book of Enchantments, was published by Foothills Publishing in Summer 2007. As Guest Poet for the 2006 Authors & Artists of the Sea session of Whale Camp on Grand Manaan Island, she edited Small as a World, Large as Alone, available on the Whale Camp website as a PDF download. Other publications include Poiesis, It Has Come To This: Poets of the Great Mother Conference, Block Island Poetry Project website, Philadelphia Poets, Blue Sofa Review, Schuylkill Valley Journal and the Painted Bride Quarterly among others. She is a founding member of The Delco Poets’ Cooperative, the first poetry organization in Delaware County which evolved into the present Mad Poets’ Society. In addition to her poetry and storytelling work, she is a book artist as well as the editor and publisher of Gwasg Cwtsh y Bardd (The Bard’s Cupboard Press). Beth is an avid TriYoga practitioner, recently becoming certified as a Basics teacher and is currently studying for further certification.

First Thursday Sept.3-Jodi Corbett

2009-09-02T08:32:00.002-04:00

September 3, 2009, at 6:00 p.m.
The Cucina Cafe' at the GoggleWorks, 201 Washington ST, Reading
Featured poet is JODI CORBETT
Open Mic to follow

Jodi Corbett, Berks County native, writes and paints scenes filled with people. Her poems are often meditations upon capturing the competing energies of place as viewed through a mother-creator lens. Her poetry is published in Shoofly, Essence, Legacy, and Lehigh Literary Review. She published her first chapbook Fried Eggs and Un-edged Lawns through Foothills Publishing in 2006 and is writing a travel collection. Local collectors enjoy her water color paintings and the public can view her collaborative mural project “The Color of Money” at Reading Area Community College.

She holds a BA in English and Professional Writing from Kutztown University where she is working on her MA in English. She teaches writing at Reading Area Community College and coordinates an open mic night at Hard Bean Café in Boyertown. She lives with her two teenage sons and husband in Boyertown, Pennsylvania.

Sponsored by Berks Bards, a grassroots community group dedicated to the lively art of poetry.This event is free and open to the public.

First Thursday August 6

2009-07-30T19:03:00.006-04:00

Featured poets Emily Hayes Whittle and Naimon Lyons will present an experiment in voices, as they read each others' work as well as their own for First Thursday Poetry, August 6, 2009, at the Cucina Cafe' in the GoggleWorks, 201 Washington ST, Reading, PA. Open mic to follow.

This event is open to the public. Bring poems. Bring a friend. Bring your friend's poems!

Sponsored by Berks Bards.

Fourth Annual Northeast PA Poetry at Tamaqua

2009-07-06T12:43:00.000-04:00

Stonehedge Gardens will offer an ideal backdrop for the Fourth Annual Northeast PA Poetry and Writer’s Festival on Saturday, July 18 from 10 am to 4 pm. The festival will feature writing workshops, networking opportunities, open readings, the chance to meet publishers, and a marketplace to display, sell and sign published work.

This festival is open to any interested or aspiring writer at any skill or experience level and a $10 donation will cover breakfast and all workshops. For more information or to register in advance, call 570-386-4618 or email stonehedgeinfo@hotmail.com.

The event will offer a chance for local writers to share creative ideas, techniques and tools, and original work in the natural setting of the Stonehedge six-acre gardens, and will begin with continental breakfast mixer hosted by Black Diamond Writer’s Network where participants will choose his or her morning and afternoon workshop choice.

Workshop presenters will include Sara Hodon and Jodi Webb of the Black Diamond Writer’s Network, and professional writer and workshop facilitator Holly Landau and Deborah Filanowski, published poet and presenter. Two open mic sessions will allow participants to read poems, flash fiction or flash non-fiction, and those who opt to stay after 4 may join an informal critique group. At noon, the Stonehedge Café will sell lunch items and the Market Place will offer an area for writers to display, sell and sign their work, and meet with publishers.

All participants will enjoy poetry by special guest Jeff Rath, the acclaimed Lancaster-based poet and author of The Waiting Room at the End of the World and his most recent In the Shooting Gallery of the Heart, both published collections of poetry. Rath is the 2007 R.E. Foundation award winner for Outstanding Poetry and a Pushcart Prize nominee.

Stonehedge is a six-acre, free public garden, gallery and gift shop used for art exhibits and education, as well as a variety of community events focused on nature, art and wellness. Visitors are invited to discover the garden at any time between noon and dusk.

Operated as a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, Stonehedge Gardens is member-supported and operated almost completely through volunteer20support. Its mission is to provide an environment for personal and community transformation and wellness through its gardens and the arts. For pricing on private tours, to join as a member, or become a volunteer, visit http://stonehedge.org or call 570-386-4618.

Berks Bards slamming!

2009-06-29T16:10:00.000-04:00

Get ready to deliver your poems out loud! First Thursday Poetry for July 2nd invites attendees to speak and perform their poems out loud, more spoken word, more slam nation, in celebration of Berks Bards' 11th anniversary. Join us for an open mic marathon, beginning at 6 pm in the first floor cafe at the GoggleWorks, 201 Washington St, Reading. Bring a friend, speak a poem. Out Loud.

Finale of Bard Fest 2009

2009-06-03T11:31:00.000-04:00

Join poets and writers with Berks Bards to celebrate the FINALE of BARD FEST 2009. First Thursday Poetry at the GoggleWorks, 2nd & Washington Streets, Reading, in the first floor cafe' on June 4, 2009, at 6:00 pm.Jennifer Gittings-Dalton will be the featured poet, and there will be an open mic. Berks Bards will host a small reception after the reading with all attendees. You are invited to bring an appetizer or dessert to share. Join us for a poets' potluck!

Liz Stanley~Berks Bardszilabets@hotmail.comFind us on Facebook

Two events this week on May 31 and June 4th

2009-05-29T13:30:00.001-04:00

Two events this week!

1. Berks Bards has been invited to read at the Senior Arts Festival, Reading Area Community College, Sunday, May 31, at 3:15 pm in the Berks-Penn Rooms. Featured poets are Doug Arnold, Elizabeth Bodien, Awilda I. Castro-Suarez, Marilyn Klimcho, Patrick Klimcho, and Liz Stanley. This event is free and open to the public.

2. First Thursday Poetry at the GoggleWorks in the first floor cafe' on June 4, 2009, at 6:00 pm. Jennifer Gittings-Dalton will be the featured poet, and there will be an open mic. Berks Bards would like to host a small reception after the reading with all attendees, to celebrate the finale of 2009 Bard Fest. We have permission to bring in some light refreshments. Join us!

Liz Stanley
~Berks Bards
zilabets@hotmail.com

Double Feature Thursday April 16

2009-04-13T12:52:00.001-04:00

THURSDAY THURSDAY THURSDAY POETRY THIS THURSDAY

Bard Fest 2009 Double-Feature!

Thursday, April 16, 2009 - Awilda I. Castro-Suarez, Hard Bean Boyertown, Second Thursday Poetry hosted by Jodi Corbett and Luke Kasik, 7:00 pm. Open mic. Call for information, 610-223-4378.

Thursday, April 16, 2009 - Award-winning poet Lamont B. Steptoe, Poetry Reading and Book Signing, First Unitarian Universalist Church of Berks County, 416 Franklin Street, Reading, 6:00 pm. Mr. Steptoe is the recipient of a 2006 Pew Fellowship in the Arts in Poetry, and the American Book Award in 2005 for his book, "A Long Movie of Shadows."

Call to reserve: 610-370-2629. This event is free and open to the general public. Reservations requested for reception hosted by the UU Church.

Liz Stanley
~Berks Bards
zilabets@hotmail.com

Membership: Marilyn Klimcho, Treasurer
610-374-1161

Facebook: Berks Bards
Blog: www.berksbards.blogspot.com

7 Poets at Outsider Folk Art Gallery, GoggleWorks

2009-04-09T12:23:00.009-04:00

Tonight the Outsider Folk Art Gallery at the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts welcomes seven poets from Alvernia University, Kutztown University and Penn State Berks Campus: Tom Bierowski, Karen Blomain, Jayne Relaford Brown, Elizabeth DeMeo, Dubem Okafor, Berks County Poet Laureate Heather Thomas, and Andrew Vogel.

The event begins at 6 pm in the Gallery, Room 504, The GoggleWorks, 201 Washington ST, Reading, PA. Open mic. This event is part of the 2009 Bard Fest, sponsored by Berks Bards.

New gallery installation is "Ecologically Correct: The Philadelphia Dumpster Divers." (April 2 to June 10, 2009)

For more information, call 610-939-1737.

Love Song April 8th

2009-04-08T12:09:00.006-04:00

Barbara DeCesare will be the featured guest on Poet's Pause, Wednesday, April 8th at 7:00 pm on Berks Community Television (BCTV). Doug Arnold is host. The program will be broadcast live on Comcast Cable Channel 13 in the Reading Area, as well as streaming online at www.bctv.org.

Barbara DeCesare is coordinating an arts event based on "The Love Song of J..."
"Do I dare to disturb the universe?" Check out the connection to Prufrock here: http://ncteinbox.blogspot.com/2009/04/daring-to-disturb-universe.html

Poetry...the next following days Apr. 4-9

2009-03-31T07:49:00.000-04:00

WHEN? Thursday, April 2, 2009 6:00 pm.
WHAT? J.C. Todd, First Thursday Poetry
WHERE? Bravo Café The GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, 201 Washington Street, Reading,
INFO? 610-777-0863.

WHEN?Saturday, April 4, 2009 10 am -12 noon.
WHAT?"Poetry and Spirit" Workshop with Jen Gittings-Dalton, First Unitarian WHERE? Universalist Church of Berks County, 416 Franklin Street, Reading
INFO? To reserve your place: call 610-370-2629.

WHEN? Wednesday, April 8, 2009 7:00 pm
WHAT? Host is Doug Arnold; poet to be announced.
WHERE? Poets' Pause, Berks Community Television

WHEN? Thursday, April 9, 2009 6:00 pm.
WHAT? Berks County College and University Faculty Poets, featuring Berks County Poet Laureate Heather Thomas, Jayne Relaford Brown, Tom Bierowski, Beth DeMeo, Dubem Okafor, Karen Blomain,
WHERE? Outsiders Folk Art Gallery, Suite 504, The GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, 201 Washington Street, Reading,
INFO? Brief open mic. to follow. Call for information, 610-939-1737.

Celebrate World Poetry Day on March 21st

2009-03-18T17:12:00.001-04:00

World Poetry Day is held annually on March 21. It was originally declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1999. The purpose of the day is to promote the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry throughout the world. When UNESCO declared March 21 as World Poetry Day, the stated goal was to “give fresh recognition and impetus to national, regional and international poetry movements.” To mark this year’s World Poetry Day, UNESCO will pay tribute to Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, who was also a Nobel Prize Laureate in Literature.

BARD FEST 2009

2009-03-12T13:43:00.002-04:00

Berks Bards Presents...BARD FEST 2009 in Celebration of National Poetry Month

1. Thursday, March 12, 2009 - Awilda I. Castro-Suarez, Crusader's Cafe,
Alvernia University, 6:00 pm. Sponsored by Alvernia University Multi-Cultural
Initiatives. Contact person: Mary Lozada (610) 796-8256.

2. Thursday, April 2, 2009 - J.C. Todd, First Thursday Poetry at the Bravo
Cafe', The GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, 201 Washington Street, Reading,
6:00 pm. Open Mic. Call for information, 610-777-0863.

3. Saturday, April 4, 2009 - "Poetry and Spirit" Workshop with Jen
Gittings-Dalton, First Unitarian Universalist Church of Berks County, 416
Franklin Street, Reading, 10-12 noon. To reserve your place: call
610-370-2629.

4. Wednesday, April 8, 2009 - Poets' Pause, Berks Community Television, 7:00
pm. Host is Doug Arnold.

5. Thursday, April 9, 2009 - Berks County College and University Faculty
Poets, featuring Jayne Relaford Brown, Tom Bierowski, Beth DeMeo, and Berks
County Poet Laureate Heather Thomas, Outsiders Folk Art Gallery, Suite 504, The
GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, 201 Washington Street, Reading, 6:00 pm. Open
Mic. Call for information, 610-939-1737.

6. Thursday, April 16, 2009 - Awilda I. Castro-Suarez, Hard Bean Boyertown,
Second Thursday Poetry hosted by Jodi Corbett, 6:30 pm. Open
mic. Call for information, (phone number?).

7. Thursday, April 16, 2009 - Award-winning poet Lamont B. Steptoe, Poetry
Reading and Book Signing, First Unitarian Universalist Church of Berks County,
416 Franklin Street, Reading, 6:00 pm. Mr. Steptoe is the recipient of a 2006
Pew Fellowship in the Arts in Poetry, and the American Book Award in 2005 for
his book, "A Long Movie of Shadows." Call to reserve: 610-370-2629.

8. Tuesday, April 21, 2009 - Jennifer Hill and Dan Waber, Poetry at Six,
Reading Area Community College, Berks Penn Rooms, 6:00 pm. Open Mic.
Sponsored by the Foundation for RACC. Call to reserve: 610-607-6239.

9. Tuesday, April 28, 2009 - Elizabeth Bodien, Mifflin Community Library, 6
Philadelphia Avenue, Shillington, 6:30 pm. Open mic. Call for information,
610-777-3911.

10. Thursday, April 30, 2009 - Lester Hirsh, Adamstown Area Public Library,
3000 North Reading RD, Adamstown, 6:30 pm. Open mic. Call for information,
717-484-4200.

11. Thursday, May 7, 2009 - Jayne Relaford Brown, First Thursday Poetry at the
Bravo Cafe', The GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, 201 Washington Street,
Reading, 6:00 pm. Open Mic to follow. Call for information: 610-777-0863.

12. Sunday, May 31, 2009 - Berks Bards at the Berks County Senior Arts
Festival, Berks-Penn Rooms, Reading Area Community College, 4:15 pm. Poets
featured are Doug Arnold, Elizabeth Bodien, Awilda I. Castro-Suarez, Marilyn
Klimcho, Patrick Klimcho, and Liz Stanley. Call for information,
610-374-1161.

Poetry Out Loud

2009-02-02T17:58:00.003-05:00

Join us for First Thursday Poetry on February 5, 2009, LIVE at the Bravo Cafe' in the GoggleWorks, 2nd and Washington ST in Reading, PA. Featured presenters are the awesome student competitors for POETRY OUT LOUD 2009 from Reading High School. Open mic to follow. This event is free and open to the public.

Sponsored by Berks Bards, with support from the Friends of Berks County Public Libraries, and with a grant from the PA Partners in the Arts, administered locally by the Berks Arts Council.

For more information, contact Liz Stanley, zilabets@hotmail.com.

Poetry Event at Delco Institute of Science

2008-11-26T16:35:00.002-05:00

We're giving a shout out to Eileen D'Angelo and the members of the Mad Poets Society who invited the Berks Bards to read on November 20 at the Delco Institute of Science in Media, PA. What a location! We're on the stage at the microphone, in a Civil War era edifice filled with untold collections of specimens, rocks, gems, rare science and history books, and lots of stuffed birds in glass cases. The audience was great, very receptive to our poems, and Eileen was a gracious host.

BB poets who made the road trip to Media were Patrick and Marilyn Klimcho, Michael Clipman, Jen Gittings-Dalton, Elizabeth Bodien, Naimon Lyons, and Liz Stanley.

We're takin' it on the road! Join us!

stevenallenmay has a new blog

2008-10-16T13:47:00.002-04:00

Word came today from stevenallenmay, energetic enigmatic co-founder of Berks Bards way back in 1998, about his new blog, http://www.bookgasm.blogspot.com/. This man is definitely into books, especially books as more than just the book, books as creative objects, with a presence and a history. What do you expect from a poet and publisher!? You go, s-a-m!

Berks Bards ROCK at Alvernia College

2008-10-16T13:36:00.002-04:00

Kudos to Jen Gittings-Dalton who invited Berks Bards poets and musicians to read/play at the Crusader Cafe at Alvernia University on October 15, as part of the Literary Festival on campus. Poets: Doug Arnold, Awilda I. Castro-Suarez, Fred Indenbaum, Jen Gittings-Dalton, Marilyn Klimcho, Emily Hayes Whittle, Michael Clipman, Patrick Klimcho, and Elizabeth Stanley. Musicians: Joanna Groebel on flute, Michael Clipman on percussion.

Students and faculty filled the intimate cafe' and volunteered for the open mic. One student had attended the 2008 Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival last month, and had the courage to read her work for the first time ever, at the Crusader Cafe'. Bravo, Ciara!