Article
National day of poetry against the war
January 18, 2006
The grassroots movement was started by poet Sam Hamill, who had been invited to attend the White House symposium on "Poetry and the American Voice", on Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman. Hamill emailed some friends and asked them to send him an anti-war poem for an "anthology of protest", which he intended to present to Laura Bush on February 12. The event was subsequently cancelled. Yet Hamill’s email spread "like wildfire", and his anthology (which can be found on his website) now contains over 5300 poets. Amongst them are such luminaries as Adrienne Rich, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, W.S. Merwin and Stanley Kunitz. U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins and Canadian poet laureate George Bowering have also lent their support.
Hamill told the press that he saw "profound irony" in the White House's choice of poets. Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman in particular are noted for their social criticism. Hughes was put under surveillance by the FBI and suffered harrassment from Senator Joseph McCarthy. Whitman once described the White House as "bought, sold, electioneered for, prostituted, and filled with prostitutes."
"The idea that you could have an non-political event celebrating the work of Walt Whitman, a gay poet writing about what America could be during the civil war is absurd," Todd Swift, editor of the Canadian-British {id="254" title="100 Poets Against the War"} compilations, told The Guardian.
The initiative calls to mind a similar event in 1965, when Lyndon B. Johnson invited various poets and writers to attend the "White House Festival of the Arts". Robert Lowell caused a scandal by declining the invitation, as a protest against the Vietnam war. Philip Roth, William Styron, Alan Dugan and Stanley Kunitz, among others, signed a statement of support.
The American "Poets against the war" grassroots movement has turned February 12 into a national day of protest.
Originally the date for the {id="341" title="now-cancelled literary symposium"} in the White House, February 12 has been declared a national day of protest against the war by the Poets against the war initiative. Today, over fifty different readings and literary protest meetings are held all over the United States.The grassroots movement was started by poet Sam Hamill, who had been invited to attend the White House symposium on "Poetry and the American Voice", on Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman. Hamill emailed some friends and asked them to send him an anti-war poem for an "anthology of protest", which he intended to present to Laura Bush on February 12. The event was subsequently cancelled. Yet Hamill’s email spread "like wildfire", and his anthology (which can be found on his website) now contains over 5300 poets. Amongst them are such luminaries as Adrienne Rich, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, W.S. Merwin and Stanley Kunitz. U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins and Canadian poet laureate George Bowering have also lent their support.
Hamill told the press that he saw "profound irony" in the White House's choice of poets. Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman in particular are noted for their social criticism. Hughes was put under surveillance by the FBI and suffered harrassment from Senator Joseph McCarthy. Whitman once described the White House as "bought, sold, electioneered for, prostituted, and filled with prostitutes."
"The idea that you could have an non-political event celebrating the work of Walt Whitman, a gay poet writing about what America could be during the civil war is absurd," Todd Swift, editor of the Canadian-British {id="254" title="100 Poets Against the War"} compilations, told The Guardian.
The initiative calls to mind a similar event in 1965, when Lyndon B. Johnson invited various poets and writers to attend the "White House Festival of the Arts". Robert Lowell caused a scandal by declining the invitation, as a protest against the Vietnam war. Philip Roth, William Styron, Alan Dugan and Stanley Kunitz, among others, signed a statement of support.
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