Lake Angela, a multidisciplinary artist from Warrington Township, has been named Bucks County’s 48th annual Poet Laureate made official by Bucks Professor and Director of the Program, Ethel Rackin.
Buck County’s Poet Laureate program is the longest-running in the state. For over three decades, the Bucks County Commissioners have supported the program, which is funded by the BCCC Foundation.
Each entry for the contest was a collection of 50 poems of any style. Angela emerged as the winner out of more than 50 entries. The 2024 Poet Laureate judges, Philadelphia poet Thomas Devaney and New York poet Kasey Jueds, both commented on the overall strength of this year’s entries.
In addition to being a published poet, Angela is a translator and dance choreographer. Angela holds a PhD for her intersemiotic translations of German Expressionist poetry into dance and her MFA is in poetry.
A significant part of her artistic and academic mission is to illuminate the creative potential of schizophrenia spectrum thinking. While she’s a successful published poet, Angela also has numerous academic publications, often involving schizophrenia spectrum’s place in cognition and creativity.
She currently directs the international multimedia group called “Companyia Lake Angela.” The group offers sessions in guided healing through poetry and movement and provides a platform for schizophrenia spectrum creativity.
Her poems and choreography often involve themes of darkness, suffering, colors and water. She has released three full-length poetry books, “Organblooms” (2020), “Words for the Dead” (2021) and “Scivias Choreomaniae” (2024).
Angela’s poems have appeared in Seneca Review, BODY, The Common, Passages North and Poetry Salzburg Review among others. Angela is part of the nonprofit literary organization, Keep St. Pete Lit, which assists writers around the world. She is also an editor for Punt Volat with her spouse, writer Kevin Richard Kaiser.
Alongside 2023 Laureate Tara Tamburello, Angela will be reading her poetry on Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. in Tyler Hall. The two will be joined by this year’s three runners-up, Robbin Farr, Madeline Marriott and Judith Adams Lagana.
Visit Lake Angela’s website at lakeangeladance.com