Join Rick Lupert on Zoom!
When: Thursday, August 5th, 2021, at 6 pm EST / 3 pm PST
Where: TinyURL.com/VirtualBard to reach us on Zoom
If required, please enter the Meeting ID 759 062 6042
Rick will be joining us virtually from California. We are so thankful for this opportunity, in us working from Pennsylvania, in sharing poetry across the country.
And below is a sample poem from our featured poet:
Hey Jude
Whenever I ask the question
do you know who’s singing this song
to my ten year old in the back seat
of the car, invariably he answers
The Beatles. And he is correct as I only
ask him this question when they come on.
He’s been dealing with this since
he was in the womb when his pregnant parents
(hi) saw the film Across the Universe
on the couch one evening and, in a fit
of revelation, knew exactly what we would
be calling this impending, permanent visitor.
Whenever someone meets him and learns his name
it’s impossible for them to not cry out Hey Jude!
It’s like a hiccup, involuntary, can’t be stopped.
He used to tell everyone he hated The Beatles
and then, at a certain point, it all clicked
and he started demanding their voices
on the car stereo. Who wouldn’t want
anthems sung to them while being chauffeured
to and from houses of fundamental learning,
religious institutions, and the occasional
pizza parlor? He knows who he is and the
expectations people have when they sing his name.
He knows what it means and how they used to
label people with his name on yellow stars
decades before men from Liverpool would
front thousands of people, their hands
hoisted in the air, na-na-ing like there
never was another song.
We put every weight on what we called him.
He crosses the universe, making our songs
better.
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Below, hear Rick read a poem about rain in Tokyo.
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POETRY OPEN MIC UPDATE!
There will be an open mic segment following the featured poet; those who are interested in participating in the open mic can sign up for it in the chat on Zoom, once the main monthly event starts.
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Meet Brenardo Taylor
Brenardo Taylor is our latest Zoom host for poetry readings and open mics and began assisting Berks Bards with this last month. Please welcome him!
Brenardo Taylor is a poet and songwriter who is a resident of Prince George’s County, Maryland. He has been writing for over five decades, and his written words have been featured in countless newspapers, magazines, and poetry anthologies, including his own chapbook, “Bridge Over Trouble.”
An alumnus of the Anointed P.E.N.S. of Ebenezer AME Church, the “Poets In Progress” under the direction of the Late Dolores Kendrick, Poet Laureate of Washington D. C., he is also currently a member of “Collective Voices.” In 2020, he was selected as one of the Poets of Excellence for Prince George’s County of Maryland.
As a spoken word artist, he has performed in venues alongside Gayle Danley, Saul Williams, Sonya Sanchez, Amiri Baraka, The Last Poets, and as a host of other renowned writers and performers.
In addition to stage credits, Brenardo has appeared on a variety of Radio and Television shows, including “Sojourn With Words,” “Griots Story Telling Circle,” “Spoken Word @ Joe’s Place,” “The Poet And The Poem,” and “Pat Thornton’s Business Hour.”
Brenardo is a writer of vision who is inspired to cover all aspects of the human condition in his work.
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