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New York Poets for Peace Ready to Take Their Show on Road
an article by Chris Brandt
In December, 2001, 3 poets - Chris Brandt, Veronica Golos
and Angelo Verga - established New York's Poets for Peace, Against the
Tide of War. Sickened by the Bush regime’s hijacking of the genuine
national debate that blossomed after 9/11, we wanted to support efforts
to preserve peace and continue the national dialog. Since we are poets,
we were also aghast at the Bush gang's wanton misuse of the English
language, and the answer we had to that was language well used.
So,
on January 25th, 2002, we produced a highly successful reading at the
MLK Center of Local 1199, where Grace Paley, Martin Espada, Cornelius
Eady, the late Zoe Anglesey, David Williams, D.H. Melhem, and we three
read to an audience of about 250. Since then, we have produced one more
large reading and several small ones, and of course, Laura Bush has
given American poetry its best shot in the arm in decades by
disinviting Sam Hammill from the White House. Thanks, Laura!
The
three original organizers of the New York readings have published a
chapbook called 3Poets4Peace. (A chapbook is a small-format collection
of poems; originally they were song collections sold by peddlers.) We
also put together an evening by the same name, in which we read poems
that promote peace. About 2/5ths are our own, the rest our favorites
from the long and honorable history of anti-war poetry, from Wilfred
Owen, Paul Celan and e.e. cummings to Yusef Komunyakaa, Paley, Espada,
and Vietnamese poet Nguyen Quang Thieu. We have presented three
readings in NY, and we'd like to take our show on the road.
So
we are seeking venues outside of NYC. All profits from book sales and
admissions to the readings go to the peace movement - groups such as
War Resisters League, NION, ANSWER, United for Peace and Justice, the
Joiner Center for the Study of War and Social Consequences, etc. We
need to cover only travel expenses and a place to stay if it's an
overnight thing. Is anyone out there interested?
For possible
venues, or to purchase a copy of the book ($5), please contact Chris
Brandt at 77 East 4th Street, 6C, NY, NY 10003 - or 212 254-8875 - or
chribrndt@aol.com.
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DISCUSSION
Question(s) related to this article:
Do the arts create a basis for a culture of peace?
What is, or should be, their role in our movement?
As a reader, you are invited to join in the discussion of
this article based on any of the above question(s): just click on the
question, read the previous comments and add a new reply. You may also
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Thematic forum(s) in which this article is being discussed:
THE ARTS AND A CULTURE OF PEACE
Latest reader comment:
Yes, the arts do create a basis for a culture of peace.
The
question I would raise is where are the visual artists who have
produced a Guernica like painting of Felluja? Paintings last longer
than photographs which are too often fleeting.
Do the poets against the war meet annually?
I
caught a bit of an interesting tv show which featured world class
artists such as Wole Soyinka speaking in Israel/Palestine about ways to
further the peace movement there. Did anyone else see the entire show?
I hope a loscal Peace Day could emulate the UN opening ceremony .
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