Join Katy Giebenhain on Zoom—Thursday, March 4th, 2021, at 6 pm EST.

Join Katy Giebenhain on Zoom!


When: Thursday, March 4th, 2021, at 6 pm EST


Where: TinyURL.com/VirtualBard to reach us on Zoom


If required, please enter the Meeting ID 759 062 6042


And below is a sample poem from our featured poet:

 

Falling Asleep in a 300 Year-Old Industrial Cottage in Derbyshire Surrounded by Star Wars Action Figures

 
 
Did you know a Storm Trooper Red Eye
has higher mechanical skills
than battle skills?
 
Did you know an Imperial Storm Trooper
has higher leadership skills
than intelligence?
 
Flanked by shelves of Jedi
a weekend houseguest
channels Joseph Campbell, says
 
out loud, in the snug dark
What about the Non-Hero’s journey?
Alongside the call to adventure
are the other calls.
And someone appears at the right time:
the enemy with a thousand faces
the mentor with a thousand faces
the waitress with a thousand faces.
The Hero doesn’t get
through anything alone.
All creators worth their salt know this.

 

"Falling Asleep in a 300 Year-Old Industrial Cottage in Derbyshire Surrounded by Star Wars Action Figures" first appeared in Glasgow Review of Books.

 

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RETURN OF OUR POETRY OPEN MIC!

Also, we are thrilled to be bringing back our open mic, after this reading, similar but slightly differently to past in-person readings we hosted for years.

If you would like to participate in our limited open mic following the presentation by our March 4th, 2021, featured poet, please send an email to Patti Ross, Berks Bards' current host, at par.media1@gmail.com, no later than Friday, February 26, 2021, with "Berks Bards open mic" in the subject line.

November 2020, December 2020, & January 2021 Poetry Readings with Berks Bards—Now Available on YouTube.

We have been working to share First Thursday poetry readings to our YouTube channel whenever possible since 2020, in transitioning to Zoom from in-person events by April of last year.

Below are our three most recent recordings for you to enjoy again or if you weren't able to be a part of our audience in recent months.

RACC Announces Anthony Orozco as 9th Berks County Poet Laureate.

 (Photo Credit: Mateo Toro)

Reading Area Community College recently announced that Anthony Orozco has been named the 9th Berks County Poet Laureate for 2021 and 2022.

We as Berks Bards are absolutely elated and so grateful to hear this news. In recent years, we've watched Orozco's unique and heart-driven force of goodness through his way with language in how he lifts people up through his performances of poetry. And we've also loved seeing him delve into teaching poetry workshops at Barrio Alegría in the City of Reading, often with a packed classroom of enthusiastic students eager to learn from his craft, to help them on their paths in finding strength in their own language and turns of phrasing.

In 2019, as a journalist who is seasoned in documenting stories and memories from the people he meets, he curated a breakthrough project of community-weaved voices through local writers in Pen Street: City of Poems, inspired by Penn Street in downtown Reading.

And his poem ''A Restless Glimmer'' especially matches a great need in the world since 2020 into now, in how it brings recognition to what we feel inside and the hope we want to have, collectively. See it online here on YouTube.

Last month, we highlighted Orozco as our January 2021 featured poet in bringing you all into a very different kind of new year, feeling that he was the perfect fit for this in what his energy and vision offers. If you weren't able to be there for the poetry reading on Zoom, feel free to check it out here on our YouTube channel; and if you're open to new ideas in 2021, we recommend watching poetry readings while you enjoy dinner, to savor the artistry of a poet while you nourish yourself and maybe also while spending time with loved ones, to share these experiences alongside one another, with a fork or spoon in hand.

Learn more about Berks County's poet laureateship sponsored by RACC and also about Orozco through BCTV.

Donate to Berks Bards, a Poetry-Promoting 501(c)(3) Nonprofit.

Donate & Make a Difference—

(Photo Credit: Rafael Cerqueira) 

(Updated in 2021) Berks Bards has thankfully survived a hard world since 2020, both as an organization and in budgetary-speak, with state arts grants impacted initially by economic impacts of COVID-19.

As a local 501(c)(3) nonprofits in Berks County, Pennsylvania, with reach well beyond just locally since 2020, Berks Bards gratefully welcomes donations via PayPal. Donate via TinyURL.com/BerksBards.

Donations as checks can be written to Berks Bards and mailed to Marilyn Klimcho at 16 Bentley Court, Reading, PA 19601.

Support to our nonprofit allows us to be able to keep our community impact through poetry advocacy going. We thank anyone who is able to contribute, whether now or in the future.