Joseph 'Count Slima' Williams was born in 1949 in Queens, NY, and raised in the Baruch Houses on Houston Street. A long-standing New Yorker, Slima has become a poetry legend in the East Village. He was formerly a member at CHARAS / El Bohio, a community center and activist group located at P.S 64. He is a pool shark at Sophie's bar and a former employee at Two Boots Pizza, where he worked for nearly 30 years. Slima's art can be found on the ceiling at Sophie's bar, and a mural poem is viewable out of the window in the back room at Mona's bar. His nickname ‘Slima’ was given to him by his grade school teacher, meaning 'peace' in Hebrew. Slima's poems are a stream of consciousness laboriously stenciled with pencil and marker on poster board. Topics include angels, bar nights and parties, the four seasons, pretty ladies, the Knicks, and social issues surrounding NYC. A prolific writer, Slima aims to write a poem every day. In the past year Count Slima has exhibited work at downtown galleries David Peter Francis, Helena Anrather, and Foreign & Domestic.