Article
White House cancels poetry forum over fears of anti-war protest
January 18, 2006
American poet Sam Hamill rejected his invitation and asked his friends to send him anti-war poems, writes the BBC. Furthermore, he called for other poets present at the forum to read protest prose to the audience. Hamill claims to have received more than 1,500 poems including works by W.S. Merwin, Adrienne Rich and Lawrence Ferlinghetti.
Connecticut's poet laureate Marilyn Nelson had planned to wear a scarf covered in peace signs. "I had decided to go because I felt my presence would promote peace," she said.
A poetry forum at the White House that was to be hosted by First Lady Laura Bush has been cancelled after some of the poets indicated they wanted to protest against the proposed attack on Iraq.
The forum, scheduled for February 12, was supposed to focus on the works of Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman. Laura Bush has hosted a number of literary events before, discussing American authors and their role in society. However, this particular symposium sparked a nation-wide protest, the BBC reports, prompting Mrs Bush to cancel the event. "While Mrs Bush respects the right of all Americans to express their opinions, she, too, has opinions and believes it would be inappropriate to turn a literary event into a political forum," a White House spokeswoman said. American poet Sam Hamill rejected his invitation and asked his friends to send him anti-war poems, writes the BBC. Furthermore, he called for other poets present at the forum to read protest prose to the audience. Hamill claims to have received more than 1,500 poems including works by W.S. Merwin, Adrienne Rich and Lawrence Ferlinghetti.
Connecticut's poet laureate Marilyn Nelson had planned to wear a scarf covered in peace signs. "I had decided to go because I felt my presence would promote peace," she said.
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