What? First Thursday in February poetry reading
When? Feb 7th, 6-8 pm,
Where? At the Bravo Cafe', GoggleWorks.
Featured poet:
Thomas Bierowski
Tom Bierowski was born in Mt. Carmel, PA (1962), where he attended Holy Spirit grade school, rode his bicycle and served Mass on Sundays. He went to high school at Our Lady of Lourdes Regional, in Shamokin, PA where he was a student council rep and National Honor Society member until he joined the marching band and was kicked off both. After high school, he joined the Order of Friars Minor Conventual (‘The Franciscans’) where he wore a black habit and heavily contemplated the mysteries before returning to the secular world three years later.
25 years of various jobs and academic degrees have intervened between then and his appearance at the Goggleworks: B.A. in English from St. Joseph’s University, pack out man for Canada Dry, pool builder, maintenance man, software tech writer, M.A. in creative writing from San Francisco State University, house painter, free lance writer, gardener, aerospace technical writer, teaching fellow, PhD in English Literature from Lehigh University… and now he’s an Assistant Professor of English at Alvernia College.
Never once has he called himself a scholar, poet, novelist, artist, or musician— although he has spent much of his adulthood doing any/all of those things because life is too short not to. He has organized writers’ series at Lehigh and Alvernia and digs the vibe of live performance because he’s convinced that communication is THE rush of being human. His credits include The Pennsyltucky Lullaby (a novel, 1994), Talking Book (a multimedia hootenanny, 2002), The Rocket Power’d Cross (a graphic novel/live performance, 2006), Eaten by Horses (and Other Earthly Oddities) (spoken word presentation of fiction and personal essay, 2007), The Vile Lunacy of Time (spoken word presentation of original memoir, 2007), and The Double-Wide Dream (multimedia happening/rock opera, 2007).
The event is open to the public, sponsored by Berks Bards.
1 comment:
Yo, I know this cat and I dig him!
But . . .
You left out of few items from TB’s Curriculum Vitae.
One of the things that you did not mention is his skill as a long-distance-mulcher. Although no loner active on the international circuit he was once ranked first (okay maybe second) in the country, both for distance, and accuracy. He is also a master-composter, co-inventor of the flying press digestor, and discoverer of the adz of Schuylkill Valley.
While an undergraduate at St Joseph's, Tom also worked part time as a scrivener-guitarist, translating (and transcribing) several previously unknown Bullah Notes, including the classic "Hamming the Buxom Dane" and other favorites. Ad maiorem Dei gloriam
Those of us who know Tom's work from his Philadelphia period fondly remember the Shoe, his Uncle's 3rd Grade Socks, and Pulla MaFinger.
His departure is sadly recalled by Pongoid Basilthorpe, Bolsi Bop, McGoop McGoop ("I took a Poop”) Jer-ZEE, Lee Bird, and Duessal McBain.
Amicus optima vitae possessio.
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