BARDFEST99
-Mission Statement-

In April of 1999 there will be a month long poetry festival throughout Berks County, PA called BARDFEST99. I felt it was important to define what I mean by ‘Bard’ in order to make clear the intention of this event. By bard I mean less of the William Shakespeare “men-in-tights” and more the poet/singer who speaks of the trials and conquests of his times. These times. Approaching another millennium. Struggling to express our voices in an age of constant BLURS. Of white noise and television sound-bytes. Computer languages and emotional shorthand, symbolic exhaustion and public spectacle. 1999!

BARDFEST99 began as a concept in September 1998 and now it is about to occur for the first time anywhere in the USA at this level - 30 straight days - in a place other than New York or San Francisco. To most people, Berks County, PA does not connect with them as a cultural center nor has it been. There is the Berks Jazz Fest which takes place in March and other occasional events, but it isn’t like it had been a hotbed of Beat literature or something comparable to Soho in New York. That is part of the attraction here. I wanted to prove that arts can be and thrive anywhere.

And I am confident that it will. As the primary organizer of this event, I can attest to the willingness of the many venues to hold poetry readings, and the good cheer that this idea has generated since I have been working on it. It has led to the creation of a nonprofit organization, BerksBARDS; a group of poets who have come together for this very project, as well as various other interactions which would not have taken place minus the event.

When you view the calender you will note the diversity of the venues; schools and libraries, art galleries and restaurants, churches and Borders and Hispanic centers which testify to the effort to exclude no one from the events. If after checking out the calender you wish to participate live at any of the readings please contact me online ; zen3ten@aol.com.

If you are unable to be there live, we will be setting up a message board for you to include your poetry webpage - a banner exchange - as well as a board to post poems you would like read at some of the events. All events are going to be videotaped as well, and we are trying to set one event up for national simulcast during the month as well.

So, why April? Well, some poets might know this - April is National Poetry Month and we are doing our part to promote the art form in its many guises: workshops, lectures, performances, and readings. My hope is that this event will get us on the same national stage as poetry festivals in Seattle and Austin, and across this country. Heck, think GLOBAL!

Every voice is valid and rings of truth. Personally, I would like this to spin a nice positive energy flow around the world - art is the best deterrent to war that we have. Let’s use our voices for good, and it will become so. We are, afterall, what we think. Let’s think positive!

stevenallenmay