Four Berks
Bards poets are invited to York on June 21: Angie Knott, Egedeme, Noah
Ayala, and Liz Stanley.
Poetry at
King's Courtyard
Friday June
21st @ 7pm-9pm
124 E. King
St. York, PA 17403
Join us for another
fabulous night of "It's NOT the King's English" at the King's
Courtyard Artist Collective. This is a very special night of artist
exchange...not 1 or 2 but 4!!! of the best poets from Berks County are
traveling all the way down here to read for us and give us a sampling of what's
going on in the flourishing poetry scenes beyond our borders. Please come out
and support these super cool folks...and I'll give you free wine :)
Elizabeth Stanley has loved poetry since she was six. She holds a B.A. in English, Gettysburg College, and an M.A., Bread Loaf School of English, Middlebury, VT, plus one summer at the Bread Loaf Writer's Conference. She taught English in the junior high, and ESL with students from Taiwan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Cuba and Puerto Rico. Since 1998, Stanley has hosted the Bruce Stanley Memorial Poetry Series, Poetry@Six, at Reading Area Community College, featuring local, regional and national poets, sponsored by the Foundation for RACC. She serves as president of Berks Bards, a grassroots poetry group that promotes the lively art of poetry in Reading and Berks County, hosting First Thursday Poetry events, live at the Cucina Cafe' in the GoggleWorks. Stanley hosts poetry events for Bard Fest every April, and for the Berks Literary Festival and Kinetic Poetry each October. Stanley's poems peer through microscopes of grief, time, and patience. She lives on a curved street with a Turkish Van named Bear.
Egedeme, born as Juan Antonio Franqui in Puerto Rico, was always on stage since a young age. After graduating high school, Egedeme joined the U.S. Army. Finishing his military career early with honor, he moved to Miami where he encountered trials and tribulations that lead him to write poetry. He started going to open mics and learned from poets such as Will “Da Real One” Bell. He wrote and performed all over south Miami performing his poems in English and Spanish. The crowds began calling him “El Gallo Del Microfono” which translates to “The Rooster of The Mic.” Soon thereafter, his name became abbreviated to: E.G.D.M. Which in Spanish, sounds like Egedeme (Eh-Hey-Day-May), giving him the name he is known by today. Egedeme later moved to Reading where he started his own poetry open mic night called “Speak Your Mind.”He slammed in the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in New York City and in Baltimore at Last Poet Standing (which he placed third). He placed second in the Harrisburg Poetry Slam but won Peoples’ Choice Poet. In 2010, he teamed up with Berks Bards to lead poetry workshops at Abraxas Juvenile Detention Center, teaching the teenage residents how to express themselves through writing. He appeared on various television networks, radio stations and independent movies and was named “Hottest Lyrics in Spanish” on Flowhot.net for a song he wrote called “Eran Niños.” He is currently working on his book, titled after his endearing stage name and scheduled to release next year. He is currently mentoring at I-Lead Charter School and recently is 2013 Lancaster Slam Champion. He is determined to continue bringing a poetic revolution “one mind at a time."
Angie Knott is a poet residing in Schuylkill County and a member of Berks Bards. Her poetry has appeared in the publication, “The Poets of Blood, Bleed for a Cause” a collection of dark poetry to benefit the homeless. Recently she's been recorded reciting her poetry on BCTV a local Berks television network, as well as a Brooklyn based collage radio show. She hosts a yearly poetry event in Pottsville, PA called The Block of Art and she's the creator of a poetry networking site on Facebook called, PoetryInPA a popular message board for poets and writers.
Noah Ayala was born in 1984 in Reading, Pennsylvania but shortly after moved down the coast to Florida. His family worked there way to Puerto Rico, the island where he was raised. In 1997 he returned to Pennsylvania. That same year hip-hop was at its peak. He was influenced by the sounds of the Wu Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, Nas, Big Punisher and many more east coast MC’s. Currently a poet, lyricist and musician, Noah is an active member of the Berks Bards, Reading. Hip-Hop Summit and in the community. He believes that expression is the key to life. “One must express to live, breathe, walk and talk. Anything worth having, takes hard work. Poetry saves lives.”
Elizabeth Stanley has loved poetry since she was six. She holds a B.A. in English, Gettysburg College, and an M.A., Bread Loaf School of English, Middlebury, VT, plus one summer at the Bread Loaf Writer's Conference. She taught English in the junior high, and ESL with students from Taiwan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Cuba and Puerto Rico. Since 1998, Stanley has hosted the Bruce Stanley Memorial Poetry Series, Poetry@Six, at Reading Area Community College, featuring local, regional and national poets, sponsored by the Foundation for RACC. She serves as president of Berks Bards, a grassroots poetry group that promotes the lively art of poetry in Reading and Berks County, hosting First Thursday Poetry events, live at the Cucina Cafe' in the GoggleWorks. Stanley hosts poetry events for Bard Fest every April, and for the Berks Literary Festival and Kinetic Poetry each October. Stanley's poems peer through microscopes of grief, time, and patience. She lives on a curved street with a Turkish Van named Bear.
Egedeme, born as Juan Antonio Franqui in Puerto Rico, was always on stage since a young age. After graduating high school, Egedeme joined the U.S. Army. Finishing his military career early with honor, he moved to Miami where he encountered trials and tribulations that lead him to write poetry. He started going to open mics and learned from poets such as Will “Da Real One” Bell. He wrote and performed all over south Miami performing his poems in English and Spanish. The crowds began calling him “El Gallo Del Microfono” which translates to “The Rooster of The Mic.” Soon thereafter, his name became abbreviated to: E.G.D.M. Which in Spanish, sounds like Egedeme (Eh-Hey-Day-May), giving him the name he is known by today. Egedeme later moved to Reading where he started his own poetry open mic night called “Speak Your Mind.”He slammed in the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in New York City and in Baltimore at Last Poet Standing (which he placed third). He placed second in the Harrisburg Poetry Slam but won Peoples’ Choice Poet. In 2010, he teamed up with Berks Bards to lead poetry workshops at Abraxas Juvenile Detention Center, teaching the teenage residents how to express themselves through writing. He appeared on various television networks, radio stations and independent movies and was named “Hottest Lyrics in Spanish” on Flowhot.net for a song he wrote called “Eran Niños.” He is currently working on his book, titled after his endearing stage name and scheduled to release next year. He is currently mentoring at I-Lead Charter School and recently is 2013 Lancaster Slam Champion. He is determined to continue bringing a poetic revolution “one mind at a time."
Angie Knott is a poet residing in Schuylkill County and a member of Berks Bards. Her poetry has appeared in the publication, “The Poets of Blood, Bleed for a Cause” a collection of dark poetry to benefit the homeless. Recently she's been recorded reciting her poetry on BCTV a local Berks television network, as well as a Brooklyn based collage radio show. She hosts a yearly poetry event in Pottsville, PA called The Block of Art and she's the creator of a poetry networking site on Facebook called, PoetryInPA a popular message board for poets and writers.
Noah Ayala was born in 1984 in Reading, Pennsylvania but shortly after moved down the coast to Florida. His family worked there way to Puerto Rico, the island where he was raised. In 1997 he returned to Pennsylvania. That same year hip-hop was at its peak. He was influenced by the sounds of the Wu Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, Nas, Big Punisher and many more east coast MC’s. Currently a poet, lyricist and musician, Noah is an active member of the Berks Bards, Reading. Hip-Hop Summit and in the community. He believes that expression is the key to life. “One must express to live, breathe, walk and talk. Anything worth having, takes hard work. Poetry saves lives.”
