Fw: Global Vigil for Peace on March 16 - Poets Against the War



Poets Against the War
----- Original Message -----
From: info at poetsagainstthewar.org
To: nelmar at libero.it
Sent: Sunday, March 16, 2003 1:08 AM
Subject: Global Vigil for Peace on March 16 - Poets Against the War



Global Vigil for Peace Sunday


Poets Will Join Millions in Global
Vigil for Peace on March 16
The Bush administration will likely fail to win Security Council support for
war, and world public opinion -- including poets -- has been instrumental.
Help keep up the pressure by attending, or scheduling, a 7PM candlelight
vigil on Sunday in your area. Poets Against the War, along with MoveOn.org
and the Win Without War coalition, and together with Archbishop Desmond Tutu
and many faith-based organizations, are calling for this global vigil -- and
we need your help.
From MoveOn.org: :"Beginning in New Zealand, this will be a rolling wave of
candlelight gatherings that will quickly cross the globe. It's up to you to
make this happen. Today we are asking individuals, like you, to organize a
vigil in each community. We're hoping that thousands of small groups around
the world will be inspired to come together and stand for peace. It's time
for the world to come together in this moment of darkness and rekindle the
light of reason -- and of hope. It's time to renew our commitment to
building a positive world for our children. With your help, we will see the
first candlelight vigil to sweep around the globe on the evening of March
16th. Together, we will lead the nations of the world away from an
unnecessary war and toward a peaceful and prosperous future."
The Global Vigil is endorsed by Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond
Tutu, who recently said:  "On Sunday evening people in every corner of the
globe will shine beacons of light throughout the world.  May our candles
rekindle the light of reason and hope so that war will be averted in Iraq
and peace will prevail in the world."
You can still sign up for a vigil in your area at:
http://www.globalvigil.org



News of Poets Against the War
Keep the PAW web site up - In response to the request of many poets around
the world, the Board of Poets Against the War has to decided to maintain the
web site -- along with the vast anthology of the work of 12,000 poets
against the war -- into the foreseeable future, for at least as long as
there is a threat of an attack on Iraq or in the case of a continuing war.
"When we initiated the web site back in January," said poet Sam Hamill, "we
expected this to be a short-lived effort to make a single statement at a
critical moment. That moment has not passed, and we'll continue to provide a
venue for poets to be heard as long as we need to."
Report on March 5 - Poets Against the War held an International Day of
Poetry Against the War on Wednesday, March 5th. Poets around the world
scheduled over 120 readings and/or discussions of poetry and protest for
that day, and poets presented copies of 13,000 poems to governments around
the world, including in the US, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, Germany,
Italy, and Mexico. First hand reports are available at the
poetsagainstthewar.org web site.
More plans to oppose war - Poets Against the War has several projects
underway:
Anthology of "Poetry Against the War" to be published by Nation Books in
mid-April.
Documentary film to be produced by end of May for broad distribution.
Continuing Poetry Against the War readings to be organized .
Presentations of the 13,000 antiwar poems to governments and other
organizations around the world.
Plans to engage poets with each other in neighborhoods, towns and cities
everywhere to organize opposition to war.



We still need your help. Please donate now!
Poets Against the War has raised over $60,000 from over 1,400 poets and
others since January to support our activities, including publishing the web
site, holding press conferences, making a documentary, buying newspaper ads,
and organizing poetry readings.
But we have current large debts and some very large future expenses to pay
for, and we still need your help to make a powerful statement for peace.
Please make the most generous donation you can to Poets Against the War. You
can make a secure online donation using a credit card via PayPal. If you
haven't used PayPal before, a brief and fairly painless registration process
is required.


Or send checks payable to "Poets Against the War" to:

Poets Against the War
Box 1614
Port Townsend, WA 98368
For more information about donating to Poets Against the War, contact
donate at poetsagainstthewar.org. Peace and thanks.