Because of anticipated weather conditons, Lester Hersh, the featured poet for First Thursday on January 2nd, 2014 has cancelled his appearance. If the GoggleWorks remains open, however, Berks Bards still plans to hold an open mic night.

Bring your poems, bring your friends, bring your friend's poems.

January 2nd, 2014 at 6 p.m. at the Mi Casa Su Casa Cafe in the GoggleWorks welcoming poet Lester Hersh to First Thursday with Berks Bards, open mic to follow

The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences placed Lester Hirsh's 'Mosaic II: Poems of An Ancient Order' on the Official Ballot for the 47th Annual Grammy Awards for 'Best Spoken Word Album.'

Lester Hirsh is a gifted guitarist, singer/songwriter, and poet. Performing on Spanish 6-string and acoustic 12-string guitar, his style ranges from classical, country, and folk, to Brazilian jazz and Flamenco. His repertoire includes original compositions as well as standards performed with intriguing percussive guitar riffs and harmonica.

Hirsh's guitar style, singing, flair for humor, and ability to work the crowd, moved Cheryl Mansley of RiverHouse Concerts, Shepherdstown, WV, to describe him as a 'One Man Traveling Party.'

Lester has performed in a variety of ensembles over the past 30 years - folk trio Side Three, Tampa, Florida, folk/pop trio Jerusalem, Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and duo Sweet River, Concord, New Hampshire. During that time Lester also honed his skills as a viable solo artist.

In 2002 Lester began to divide time between Concord, New Hampshire and his hometown of Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. From 1985 to 1998 he produced three full-length cassette LPs: 'Part & Parcel,' 'Piper's Dream,' and 'Whistle in the Wind.' This was followed by 'Tales of a Troubadour' in 1994, a 17-song retrospective compilation. 'Piper's Dream' and 'To Have You By My Side,' from 'Tales,' appeared on the Big Noise compilation disc 'Digital Mystery Tour' which received airplay in the US and overseas.

In 1997, Lester was a finalist in the Napa Valley, California, Emerging Songwriter Contest for his songs 'Whistle in the Wind' and 'On the Road in America.' In June of 2000 he performed on Michael Johnathon's 'Woodsong Old Time Radio Hour.'

In the fall of 1998, the CD 'Sweet Surrender' was released, followed by 'Strangers and Lonesome Friends' in 2003. Two spoken word CDs, 'Mosaic, Poems of an Ancient Order' and 'Mosaic II, Poems of an Ancient Order' were released in 2002 and 2003 respectively, followed by 'Lester Hirsh Live at the Coffee and Tea Room' in 2004 and the instrumental CD 'River of Strings' in 2006.

In addition to Lester's music career, from 1988 through 2002, he was publisher and editor of Bone & Flesh literary magazine. His poems have been published in The Ashville Poetry Review, Signal, Tabula Rasa, and other periodicals. His poem, 'Casualties,' along with art by Fleur Byers, was on exhibit at the Pen & Brush Gallery, New York City, in 1992. His book, 'Mosaic II, Poems of an Ancient Order,' was published by the Writers Publishing Cooperative, Warner, New Hampshire. ( www.essentialbooks.com ) Ellen Hersh calls his poetry, 'universal with the voice of an ancient troubadour and the language of our times.'

Lester performs for special needs audiences, artist-in-school residencies, and numerous concert venues. He teaches poetry as well as guitar workshops in community education settings. He is a member of the AIE Roster, Schuylkill County Council of the Arts, as well as the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts.

Richard Isen (Musicians on the Internet) says of Lester's musical style, 'like Johnny Cash meets Allen Ginsberg with Woody Guthrie looking on.'

Of his performance, Jane Fallon, former director of the Wilton NH Arts Festival, says, 'Lester Hirsh is the consummate performer with the polish of a professional and the enthusiasm of a rookie.'

Thursday, December 5, 2013 at 6 p.m. at the GoggleWorks for an open mic night of Poetry

Join Berks Bards for a Poetry Prelude to the Holidays

Thursday, December 5th, at 6:00 pm

Mi Casa Su Casa Cafe' at the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts

201 Washington St, Reading

Open Mic

Free event open to the public

Sponsored by Berks Bards with support from a grant by the PA Partners in the Arts, with annual funding
by the PA State Legislature, and administered locally by the Berks Arts Council.  Additional support
from the Friends of the Berks County Libraries, and from members and volunteers of Berks Bards.

Liz Stanley
~Berks Bards
zilabets@hotmail.com

Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013 at 6 p.m. in the Mi Casa Cafe at the GoggleWorks presenting poets J. Love Kearse and Maria James-Thiaw

Join Berks Bards for First Thursday, featuring the poetry of Soul Cry and Maria James-Thiaw with an open mic to follow.

Soul Cry, who is otherwise known as J. Love Kearse, is a poet from York, PA where she resides with her spouse and four. The “love child” of a musical mother and literary father, she has been featured in numerous venues and slams across the east coast. She was awarded Poet of the Year for 2007 and 2008 at the Central PA Hip-Hop Awards. She currently has two CD’s to her credit entitled “Destiny’s Calling” and “The Love Chronicles” and released her first collection of poems entitled “Passing Bi” in July of 2013.

Ms. Kearse has an Associate’s Degree in Business Management from Yorktowne Business Institute, a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Leadership from Eastern University, and is a 2014 candidate to receive her Masters of Business Administration from Easter University.

Also an amateur visual artist and an accomplished vocalist and songwriter, Soul Cry lives with her family in York County, Pennsylvania

Maria James-Thiaw is the author of three poetry collections: Windows to the Soul (Shippensburg University Press, 1999), Rising Waters (Shippensburg University Press, 2003) and her latest,Talking “White” (postDada Press, 2013) In 2006, she produced an independent CD of spoken word and music entitled FREEverse. Her poetry has been published in a variety of journals including Black Magnolias, Fledgling Rag, and Love Your Rebellion.

As a performance poet, Maria gracefully bridges the gap between stage and page by delivering her well-crafted lyric poetry with the dramatic power of a seasoned spoken word artist. Since the mid-1990s, she’s been ‘blessing the mic’ at venues throughout the East Coast and in Auvillar, a village in the South of France that served as inspiration for many poems in Talking “White.”

Maria James-Thiaw is a professor of literary and cultural studies at a small private college in Pennsylvania where she co-edits an online student literary journal called The Central Pen. She holds a Master’s degree in Communications Studies from Shippensburg University (2003) and a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Goddard College (2009.)

Saturday, November 16, 2013 at 5 p.m. at Clay on Main in Oley featuring Michael Czarnecki and his Poems Across America Tour

We will begin with a pot luck supper at 5:00 p.m., then we will welcome Michael Czarnecki as our featured poet, with stories from his Poems Across America Tour at 6:30 p.m.  

Poets who have been published by FootHills Publishing are asked to join us in the, "Welcome Home, Michael!" Celebration.

Publisher and Poet Michael Czarnecki is winding up his 48-state Poems Across America Tour with us at the Half-moon cafe at Clay on Main in Oley.

We'll have an open mic for any attendees to share their work.  

We're excited to see you again, Michael!

This event is sponsored by Berks Bards, and is open to the public.  

Bring a dish to share if you are joining us for supper.

Monday, October 21, 2013 at 6 p.m. at RACC in the Ravens Lounge, Student Union, for Lynn Levin and Valerie Fox

Join us for a celebration of poetry and writing at Reading Area Community College, Monday, October 21, 6:00 pm, in the Ravens Lounge in the Student Union.  Lynn Levin and Valerie Fox are featured poets for the Bruce Stanley Memorial Poetry Reading, "Poetry at Six."  The event is free and open to the public as well as RACC students.  Book signing and open mic to follow.  Sponsored by the Foundation for RACC and Berks Bards.

 

Free Workshop with Lynn Levin and Valerie Fox on Monday afternoon, 3:30 - 5:00 pm in the Ravens Lounge, with Poems for the Writing: Prompts for Poets.  Open invitation for students and writers in the community.  Sponsored by the Humanities Division at RACC.  For more information, call 610-207-0120.

BIOS

 

LYNN LEVIN is the author of four collections of poems: Miss Plastique (Ragged Sky Press, 2013); Fair Creatures of an Hour (Loonfeather Press, 2009), a Next Generation Indie Book Awards finalist in poetry; Imaginarium (Loonfeather Press, 2005), a finalist for ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year Award; and A Few Questions about Paradise (Loonfeather Press, 2000). She is, with Valerie Fox, the author of a craft-of-poetry book, Poems for the Writing: Prompts for Poets (Texture Press, 2013). Lynn Levin’s poems have appeared in Ploughshares, Boulevard, Washington Square Review, Verse Daily, and on Garrison Keillor’s radio show The Writer’s Almanac. She is currently involved in translating the work of Odi Gonzales, a Peruvian Andean poet. Lynn Levin teaches at Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania.

 

Valerie Fox's books include The Rorschach Factory (Straw Gate Books) and The Glass Book (Texture Press). She recently published Poems for the Writing: Prompts for Poets (Texture Press), which was co-written with Lynn Levin. Bundles of Letters Including A, V and Epsilon is a compilation written with Arlene Ang (Texture Press). She currently teaches writing at Drexel University and previously taught at Sophia University (Tokyo) and Peirce College (Philadelphia). She was a founding co-editor of 6ix magazine and Press 1. She has published work in Ping Pong, Hanging Loose, West Branch, Hamilton Stone Review, and many other journals.
 

Liz Stanley

~Berks Bards

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Tonight!  Passion meets Reflection in KINETIC POETRY at the Albright College Center for the Arts, 13th & Bern St, Reading, PA, Sunday, October 6th at 6:00 pm.  Doors open at 5:30 pm.  Tickets at the Albright College Box Office, $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Students $10 with ID. 

KINETIC POETRY is a perfect fusion of dramatic spoken word poetry and acrobatic pole dancing, hooping, aerial and belly dancing.  On stage at the Albright College Theater tonight.  Get tickets now.  Join us!  Check out the photos and performers bios at www.kineticpoetrylive.com. 

Produced by Berks Bards and co-sponsored by Albright College.  Artistic Producers and Directors: Rachel Skye and Egedeme.  Call 610-921-7547 for tickets.