The Riverwood Poetry Series, Inc. continues its 2011-2012 season with Tad Richards on Thursday, February 9 at The Underwood Cafe, downstairs at Wood Memorial Libary and Ngoma on Saturday, February 25 at The Buttonwood Tree. See details below and on the venue pages.

Tad Richards has been a successful freelance writer, editor of national and local magazines, and teacher of writing. His poetry has been widely published. He has authored four poetry collections and a novel in verse. His songs have been recorded by Orleans, John Hall and Fred Koller. He is the author of a dozen or so published novels, and has written screenplays ranging from cult classic The Cheerleaders to the English language version of the Academy Award-winning Z. He is president and artistic director of Opus 40 in Saugerties, NY. His new novel, Nick and Jake, will be published in the fall by Skyhorse Press. One of his poetry collections, Take Five: Poems in 5/4 Time, will be published on line this spring by eFitzgerald. To be amazed by much more of Tad Richards’ work, visit his website at www.tadrichards.com.

Ngoma is a performance poet, multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter and paradigm shifter who for over 40 years has used culture as a tool to raise sociopolitical and spiritual consciousness through work that encourages critical thought. A former member of Amiri Baraka's SPIRIT HOUSE MOVERS AND PLAYERS and the Contemporary Freedom Song Duo - SERIOUS BIZNESS, Ngoma weaves poetry and song that raises contradictions and searches for solutions for a just and peaceful world. Ngoma was the Prop Slam Winner of the 1997 National Poetry Slam Competition in Middletown, CT and has been published in AFRICAN VOICES MAGAZINE,LONG SHOT ANTHOLOGY,THE UNDERWOOD REVIEW,SIGNIFYIN' HARLEM REVIEW,BUM RUSH THE PAGE/DEF JAM ANTHOLOGY,POEMS ON THE ROAD TO PEACE - Volumes 1,2 &3 (Yale Press) and LET LOOSE ON THE WORLD:CELEBRATING AMIRI BARAKA at 75. He was featured in the PBS Spoken Word Documentary "The Apro-Poets" with Allen Ginsberg. Ngoma has curated and hosted the poetry slam at the Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. Family Festival of Environmental and Social Justice (Yale University-New Haven,CT) since 1996.He was a selected participant in the Badilisha Poetry Xchange in Cape Town, South Africa in fall of 2009. In December of 2011 He was initiated as an Obatala Priest in Ibadan, Nigeria.His latest C.D. "Ngoma/Poetry From a Smart Phone" consists of selected poems from the 2011 National Poetry Month 30/30 Challenge. All music and poems written and performed by Ngoma, known locally,nationally,Internationally and intergalactically as Ngoma's "Not Your Average String Thing"featuring Ngoma on Vocals,Electric Violin,Bamboo Flute,Yidaki/Didgeridoo,Acoustic Guitar,Loop Station and Garage Band Tracks

FYI: www.Ngomazworld.com