E Stanley Richardson is the inaugural Poet Laureate of Alachua County, Florida.
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He is an American poet, actor, playwright, producer, educator, workshop facilitator, and an
advocate for the transformative power of poetry and the arts.
He is the founder and director of ARTSPEAKSgnv Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
dedicated to promoting literacy, well being and creating healthier communities by providing
access to creative arts programs to diverse demographics and especially to youth in rural and
historically underserved communities in North Central Florida. https://www.artspeaksgnv.org/
E. Stanley Richardson was raised in the small town of Alachua, in rural North Central Florida.
A graduate of Santa Fe High School (1980), he excelled in sports and academics and was
awarded an athletic scholarship (football) to the University of Florida, where he studied political
science.
Through a series of life altering events, at the age of Forty-Eight, E Stanley Richardson
experienced an awakening that would forever change the trajectory of his life. He discovered that
he was an artist. He came to realize that throughout life’s tumultuous terrain of hills and valleys
there has always been the constant plain of poetry in his life, those stacks of composition books
filled with poetry, creativity and other imaginings were all the things that clung when the bottom
gave way.
At the beautifully seasoned age of Forty-Eight, E. Stanley Richardson was reborn as an artist, a
creative, a spiritually affirmed poet and actor.
In 2018, at the age of Fifty-Five, E. Stanley Richardson made his professional theatrical debut as
‘Wynton’ in Marco Ramirez’s acclaimed play ‘The ROYALE’. He has continued to perform on
stage, bringing to life complex characters, such as; ‘Troy’ (Fences), ‘Big Daddy’ (Cat on a Hot
Tin Roof) ‘Louis Armstrong’ (Satchmo at The Waldorf) ‘Lucious’ (Jesus Hopped The A Train)
‘Frederrick Douglass ( In Splendid Error) and many others.
E Stanley Richardson, has collaboratively written and co-produced original works, with the
University of Florida School of Theater and Dance. His work is featured in film and
documentaries. His poetry can be found in various publications and books, both fiction and
nonfiction.
He is twice a TEDx Speaker and has facilitated text and image workshops with youths and
adults throughout North Central Florida.
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He is the producer of ‘ARTSPEAKS: Bringing Poetry & People Together,
‘ARTSPEAKS: Courageous Young Voices,’ ‘The North Central Florida Youth Poet
Laureate Program’ and ‘The Bard & Broadside: North Central Florida Poetry Festival
He is the author of the award winning book of poetry ‘Hip Hop is Dead – Long Live Hip Hop:
The Birth, Death And Resurrection Of Hip Hop Activism’ (2017)