Poets Against War continues the tradition of socially engaged poetry by creating venues for poetry as a voice against war, tyranny and oppression.
Christian Ward
28 years old
Christian Ward is the author of Slippage (Erbacce Press, 2008). His poetry has appeared in the Warwick Review, Diagram and Sage Trail. He has work forthcoming in the Emerson Review and Envoi.
The Year the Blackbirds Died
They found the birds impaled on white picket fences; in fist-sized nooses, circling like trapeze artists trying to find the safety net; slumped over tables, wings hoarding nests of pills. And all the while, cats were waiting outside, their scratching tremors trying to eke out confessions from empty mouths.
* On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 authorising the imprisonment of all Japanese Nationals and tens of thousands of American citizens of Japanese descent living along the West Coast.
Hikmet
i.m Nazim Hikmet
A little unknown folktale is that Nazim Hikmet could tune into radio transmissions using the power of his heart alone. Guards at Bursa Prison noticed he used to stroke his breast and a loud transmission would start to come out of his mouth. He liked to listen to broadcasts of Shostakovich, the news, underground speeches. Months before he died guards reported that he was curled up in his cell, frantically trying to tune into the weather report, eager for news of thunder.
* Nazim Hikmet was a Turkish poet who was repeatedly arrested for his political belief and spent much of his life imprisoned and in exile.
Weapons
Since it is illegal to carry weapons on flights, perhaps I should cut out my tongue and hand it to security, since it is capable of producing words with more impact than a gun or grenade.
George W. Bush Enjoys The Simpler Life
"He's confident in the decisions he made", Dan Bartlett, a senior Bush aide
Now that he has left office, George has time to learn the colours at his ranch in Crawford, Texas: blue, green, yellow and red. Perhaps he'll open the curtains and say in a singsong voice 'the sky is blue, the sky is blue' Whilst mowing the lawn, he might say to Laura 'the grass is green' At breakfast, he'll point to the butter and say 'the butter is yellow' Whilst watching the news, he might remark 'the blood is red, the blood is red'
