April 5, 2012 at 6 pm in the Cucina Cafe in the GoggleWorks Reading for FirstThursday Featuring Cortney Bledsoe and Joe Ross

Join Berks Bards in celebrating the second appearance of Cortney Bledsoe at the Cucina Cafe and meet Joseph Ross

Joseph Ross is the author of Meeting Bone Man, coming out in April, 2012. He is a poet, twice-nominated for a Pushcart Prize, whose poems appear in many anthologies including Collective Brightness: LGBTIQ Poets on Faith, Religion & Spirituality, Full Moon on K Street, and Poetic Voices Without Borders 1 and 2. He directs the Writing Center at Carroll High School in Washington, D.C. and writes regularly at www.JosephRoss.net.

CL Bledsoe is the author of the young adult novel, Sunlight, three poetry collections, ____(Want/Need), Anthem, and Leap Year and a short story collection called Naming the Animals. A poetry chapbook, Goodbye to Noise, is available online at www. righthandpointing.com/bledsoe. His story, “Leaving the Garden,” was selected as a Notable Story of 2008 for Story South’s Million Writer’s Award. He’s been nominated for the Pushcart Prize 3 times. He blogs at Murder Your Darlings, http://clbledsoe.blogspot.com

An open mic will follow the featured readers.

April 2, 2012 at 6 pm Featuring Jason Schossler at theT.E.A. Factory 580 Willow St. in Reading

Join Berks Bards in our kick off event for BardFest 2012

At the T. E. A. Factory, 580 Willow Street in Reading featuring Jason Schossler

Jason is launching his new book Mud Cakes. There will be a reading, book signing and an open mic.

Jason Schossler is the 2010 winner of the Melissa Lanitis Gregory Poetry Prize. The award is sponsored by Bona Fide Books, and included the publication of his first book of poetry, Mud Cakes. A two-time Pushcart Prize nominee, Schossler is the recipient of the 2009 Edwin Markham Poetry Prize and the 2010 Emerging Writer award from Grist: A Journal for Writers.

BardFest 2012 National Poetry Month in April

Coming soon to a library, art center, college or theater near you, BardFest 2012, a celebration of National Poetry Month in April features poets and writers, playwrights, indie filmmakers and dancers. Sponsored by Berks Bards, most of the events are free and open to the public. We'll post individual events here on the Berks Bards blog. Join us on Facebook at Berks Bards.

Featured poets include Jason Schossler, Cortney Bledsoe, Joe Ross, Rebecca Gonzalez, Deanna Nikaido, Gary Fincke, and Rick Kearns-Morales. Student winners for Poetry Out Loud at Reading High School and Governor Mifflin High School will recite their poems. Holly Landau offers a "Humor Writing Workshop" and indie filmmakers screen a retrospective from the Virginville Film Festival. For more information, send email to berksbards@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter @bardsofberks.

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

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.

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"

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

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.