MUSELETTER #44
8/14/2000
Most of our Museletter correspondents have been away from home this month, attending the National Poetry Slam in Providence or taking other summer journeys -- so we have no local reports for you in this week's Museletter. But poetic doings at the About Poetry Web site & Forum have been heating up, so there are lots of interesting new links. And we've been invited to participate in the International Peace Poem Project started by the Maui Live Poets Society. Enjoy!
Margy Snyder & Bob Holman
Poetry Guides
POETRY IS EVERYWHERE AT ABOUT
- Vachel Lindsay
Springfield, Illinois Guide Pamela Olson has written a brief bio of “poet, idealist, troubador” Vachel Lindsay, “sometimes called Springfield's 'second most famous' son” [after Abraham Lincoln, for our readers who do not live in the US or are not familiar with American history]. - Deborah Huffman's English class at Lanphier High School in Springfield created this good reference site on Vachel Lindsay as a class project.
READER-SUBMITTED POETRY NEWS BRIEFS
From Frank Rich:
International Peace Poem Project
Dear Poet(s):
We need your help. We are creating the longest poem in the world focused on peace and want to submit it to the United Nations this year. We have approximately 20,000 lines but we need more before the UN will accept our poetic petition for world peace. Poetry, as you know, is a powerful force for transformation. Please collect poetry within your network and help create the longest poem in the world.
The Peace Poem was started in 1996 on Maui Island by poets from the Maui Live Poetry Society and now contains over 20,000 lines in 75 languages from over 85 nations. We are planning on presenting the poem to the United Nations in October of 2000.
The process is very simple. Each person focuses on peace, composes a two-line poem in the language of her or his choice (free verse is okay) and hand-prints or writes it onto paper 11 inches wide. The longer the better. Rag paper is the best because of its strength but is not necessary. Each poem can be a complete thought and need not connect with the previous entry. Pens should be used and the authors can print their names and cities to the right of their poems. The completed papers are then rolled up and mailed to:PEACE POEMWe want individuals all over the world to become co-authors of the world’s longest poem focused on peace in order to make the strongest possible statement to the United Nations in October. All submissions must be mailed by September 30, 2000.
P.O. Box 102
Lahaina, HI 96761 USA
Sincerely, and with much aloha,
Frank Rich, Oahu Coordinator
International Peace Poem Project
