The Ragged Edge Coffee House

First Friday Poetry Tomorrow @ 7 📣📣

The Ragged Edge welcomes Shirley Brewer to First Friday on October 2nd

Join us on October 2nd in Gettysburg as we welcome our featured reader, Shirley Brewer, to First Friday at the Ragged Edge. The open mic begins at 7:00 PM followed by Shirley reading from her recent books.

Shirley J. Brewer graduated from careers in bartending, palm-reading and speech therapy. She serves as resident poet at the George Washington Carver Center for the Arts & Technology in Towson, MD. Her poems garnish Chiron Review, Comstock Review, Gargoyle, Loch Raven Review, Poetry East, SLANT among other journals and anthologies. Shirley recently won 3rd Prize in the Beullah Rose poetry contest sponsored by Smartish Pace. Her fifth book of poems, Goddess of Swizzle, is a 2026 Storytrade Book Awards Finalist. Shirley’s previous books include A Little Breast Music, After Words, Bistro in Another Realm, and Wild Girls. Website: shirleyjbrewer.com

🍂We’re welcoming fall with a new addition: pumpkin whipped cream🍁🎃

Stop by and add a little fall to your day!🍁

FIRST FRIDAY POETRY RETURNS SEPTEMBER 4th!! 🙌
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Mel Edden opens the season on September 4th

We begin the new season of poetry at the Ragged Edge on September 4th with Mel Edden. Our open mic kicks off at 7:00 PM - so feel free to bring a poem to share.

Mel Edden is a British poet based in Maryland and a 2025 Best of the Net nominee. Her poems feature in Gargoyle, The Loch Raven Review, Washington Writers Publishing House Writes, Welter, FotoSpecchio, and elsewhere. Mel runs the Manor Mill poetry reading series in Monkton, MD and edits their anthology Poets of Manor Mill. She is currently working towards her first collection. More about Mel can be found at www.meledden.com
Here is one of her poems:

Jungle Green

With guests arriving Monday I seek sheets on the top shelf.

Packed in plastic, I find bright whites saved for best.

Unfolding, I grimace at that stubborn smudge of waxy green.

You see, years before, little fingers, unseen

placed into the dryer a crayon, Jungle Green. Probably

the result of a wonderful game, origin now lost to time.

An emerald, perhaps, stashed deep in a cave? Or a princess wand

hidden from mountain trolls? Or a cookie baked in a giant’s stove?

Whatever the reason, the outcome remains: Jungle Green tossed

in my tumble machine. A permanent reminder on guest-best sheets.

At the time I cursed Crayolas and their tendency to wander,

but today I wonder: should I have savored those moments?

Houseguests come and go, but green stains linger,

like memories of princess pretend and kissable little fingers.

We’ve got some new t-shirts in stock!!👕

Stop by, find your size and upgrade your wardrobe ✨🙂

We are deeply saddened to hear of the loss of long time customer, Jim Krut. Our condolences go out to his family during this time.💐

Looking for a new favorite drink? ☕️🍨
If you haven’t already tried our summer specials, stop by Ragged Edge to enjoy these limited edition drinks, while still available!☀️