Poetry of Hunger
Poetry of Hunger
Poetry X Hunger: a Beautiful Website and Submission Opportunity
On Saturday I ran into Hiram Larew, founder of Poetry X Hunger at Rocky Jones’ Open Mic at the New Deal Café. It’s an informal setting where people gather for the sole purpose of reading poetry aloud. Seeing Hiram reminded me of the great work that he has done on behalf of poetry and specifically, the poetry of hunger. Much of this good work is documented on the Poetry X Hunger website. In addition to poems focused on worldwide hunger, you will find art, videos and lots of information about what you can do to help alleviate this scourge.
Oh yes, you’ll also find an opportunity to submit to Poetry X Hunger. Click the link to see the submission guidelines. It’s a rolling process with the window always open. I can attest to the power of this poetry. My “signature” poem, The Fruits of Famine, was originally written for Poetry X Hunger. Here’s a link to my reading of the poem in an ancient Greek amphitheater.
To give you a taste of what can be done with poetry and video, here's a PSA video by Feed the Children which features Josephine LoRe's Poetry X Hunger poem, If Words Were Enough:
That’s what I call poetry power . Bravo Hiram and your Poetry X Hunger poets!
Speaking Out as Someone in the Creative Arts
We all know that turning the government over to a far-right regime will deal a death blow to the arts in this country. That is the sad lesson of history. But not only will our own work suffer defunding and marginalization, the chilling social atmosphere created by a far-right regime reduces the quality of the aesthetic experience as a whole. We must, therefore, employ our creative powers now to fight Trump and his authoritarian project.
Here's a video I whipped up in a matter of minutes to support Kamala Harris’ battle against the far-right extremist—Trump. There will be more.
Coming Up
July 27, 2024, 2:00 pm. Ellen Cole, Eileen Ivey Sirota, and Claire McGoff will be reading at the Writer's Center on Saturday.
August 5, 2024 at 7:15 pm. Café Muse Online will feature poets in translation with Barbara Goldberg, Jona Colson and Marguerite Feitlowitz. Click here to register for the Zoom link.
As always, feel free to email me with questions or comments at henrycrawfordpoetry@gmail.com. Stay creative!
If you’d like me to list an upcoming poetry event in Everyday Poet, please let me know by emailing me at henrycrawfordpoetry@gmail.com. Use the subject: “Coming Up”.