Mother Fool’s Coffee House

1101 Williamson St.

http://www.pgink.com/local/local.html

METAPHORS, NOT WARS!

That’s it! We’ve had enough! Enough war mongering, enough evil rhetoric, enough with illiterate “Presidents” making their illegal wars!

Madison Poets are choosing to protest with poetry. On Wednesday February 12^th, 8:00 p.m. Mad Poets Revolt! will host an open mic, in solidarity with the national Poets Against the War effort, at Mother Fool’s Coffee House. There will be opportunities for organizing and direct action, including direct mailings to George W. Bush. Special Guest Speakers for the evening include Matt Rotschild of the Progressive Magazine, Vietnam Vet Will Williams, and Wisconsin Poet Laureate Ellen Kort There will also be a chance to connect with the national network of poets fighting against the war. Ahead of time, poets are encouraged to go to the national Poets Against the War website: www.poetsagainstthewar.org. Then, the night of the event, people are encouraged to come and read poetry, essays, or short stories, perform music, or just come out and speak their mind. The event will also serve as a fundraiser for local, national and international peace organizations.

The group Mad Poets Revolt! was born out of the same frustration that many artists feel at times such as these. Responding to an open letter from poet Sam Hamill (see attached page) local poets organized by first marching together at the February 1^st Rally from Library Mall to the Capitol, and then organizing this reading for everyone to come and voice their two cents.

Let it be known, Laura Bush, poets don’t sip tea and chat while W. raves WAR!

An Open Letter from Sam Hamill

Dear Friends and Fellow Poets:

When I picked up my mail and saw the letter marked "The White House," I felt no joy. Rather I was overcome by a kind of nausea as I read the card enclosed:

Laura Bush requests the pleasure of your company

at a reception and White House Symposium

on "Poetry and the American Voice"

on Wednesday, February 12, 2003 at one o'clock

Only the day before I had read a lengthy report on George Bush's proposed "Shock and Awe" attack on Iraq, calling for saturation bombing that would be like the firebombing of Dresden or Tokyo, killing countless innocent civilians. Nor has he excluded use of nuclear weapons.

I believe the only legitimate response to such a morally bankrupt and unconscionable idea is to reconstitute a Poets Against the War movement like the one organized to speak out against the war in Vietnam.

I am asking every poet to speak up for the conscience of our country and lend his or her name to our petition against this war, and to make February 12 a day of Poetry Against the War. We will compile an anthology of protest to be presented to the White House on that afternoon.

Please submit your name and a poem or statement of conscience to the Poets Against the War Web site.

There is little time to organize and compile. I urge you to pass along this letter to any poets you know. Please join me in making February 12 a day when the White House can truly hear the voices of American poets.

-- Sam Hamill, Founding Editor and Co-founder of Copper Canyon Press