Poetry for Peace Poets Against the War Come to SJA Sunday, April 6th, 2003

Gathering in the wake of the war, some 500 people from myriad walks of life, joined to hear eight of Minnesota’s most talented poets read their highly prolific poetry. This past month’s political warfare has rendered the opportunity to develop scheduled readings by Minnesota Poets Against The War. Last Sunday evening at SJA also was sponsored by our own Conversations on Peace group. The readings allowed poetic voices to define more clearly deepening expressions on the war. The anti-war movement in the last few months have awakened masses of people with a rippling effect, and in turn, begun to stir questions. From the citizens of this country an increase of inquiring minds is developing, Through prose and a necessity to express concerned feelings, this forum gave way towards deeper understanding.

Richard Broderick, founder of Minnesota Poets Against War With Iraq, hosted the evening and opened by clearly stating his opinions. In his words, "In the past year and a half, we Americans have witnessed a concerted assault in this country on language itself. It is an assault in which words have been violently sundered from their normal meanings and assigned new definitions.” He stated, “So disarmament come to mean killing the leadership of another country and liberation means an illegal war of aggression. In this poisoned verbal atmosphere, poets are the canaries in the coal mine.”

Thus began the deliberation in this expressive forum of rhetoric. The concrete evidence of hopes and fears of each of these poets: Robert Bly, Michael Dennis Browne, Emily Carter, Heid Erdrich, Deborah Keenan, Kate Green and Thomas R. Smith.

Trying to define these war terms brought the return of memories from a war long past, with many old ghosts. Just decades ago, we can recall when poetry tried to bring relief from the pain and sorrow of war and in doing so, helped find love, reassurance and hope that the world could hold together.

Michael Dennis Browne

The first poet to speak, Michael Dennis Browne, has taught at the University of Minnesota since 1971, awarded the Minnesota Book Award for his book Selected Poems 1965-1995. His Sean Connery look facilitated a command of the podium while he graced us with heartfelt poetry. He delivered prose that he wrote along with indulging us in repeating after him the words of this hopeful verse:

I am a feather on the bright sky

I am the blue horse that runs in the plain

I am the fish that rolls, shining, in the water

I am the shadow that follows a child

I am the evening light, the luster of meadows

I am an eagle playing with the wind

I am a cluster of bright beads

I am the farthest star

I am the cold of the dawn

I am the roaring of the rain

I am the glitter on the crust of the snow

I am the long track of the moon in a lake

I am a flame of four colors

I am a deer standing away in the dusk

I am a field of sumac and the pomme blanche

I am an angle of geese in the winter sky

I am the hunger of a young wolf

I am the whole dream of these things

Heid Erdich

Heid Erdrich called upon the familiar Doris Day chorus “Que Sera Sera” in her lines describing her efforts to escape the nonstop CNN news invasion of our minds. She cleverly drew images of human commonalities we experience like reading surreal news headlines in grocery lines, or fears haunting mothers with sons in queue to go to war. Her verses outlined the views and dreams of many.

Kate Green, a twice awarded Bush Foundation Fellow, struck nerves conjuring up memories of Vietnam stories. Tampering with the realities of combat she spoke of a soldier coming face to face with his killer and being cold-heartedly forced to act on survival. The poem depicts what was experienced by many after combat: the return home and the complete erasing of the horrors of war. The numbing as if it never occurred and eventually, as we know, reality returns.

Emily Carter

Emily Carter spoke electric avant garde-like interpretations in a unique personal style. Her prolific language engaged the audience and defied the powers of sleepiness while listening to a poet!

With a grandfatherly presence, the continuum of poetry was joined by the popular Robert Bly. This author, with dozens of books of poetry, literary essays, and social criticism articulated our concerns with repeat to duty. Robert questioned the slow growth of protest felt since last fall. He asked the audience their opinion as to the reason behind the apathy felt at the first ‘ringing’ of the bell. A leading voice of the anti-war movement in the 1960’s, he was concerned as to where the ‘leaders’ were. He read many poems including the one shared here :

Robert Bly

Tell me why it is we don't lift our voices these days

And cry over what is happening. Have you noticed

The plans are made for Iraq and the ice cap is melting?

I say to myself: "Go on, cry. What's the sense

Of being an adult and having no voice? Cry out!

See who will answer! This is Call and Answer!"

We will have to call especially loud to reach

Our angels, who are hard of hearing; they are hiding

In the jugs of silence filled during our wars.

Have we agreed to so many wars that we can't

Escape from silence? If we don't lift our voices, we allow

Others (who are ourselves) to rob the house.

How come we’ve listened to the great criers -- Neruda,

Akhmatova, Thoreau, Frederick Douglass -- and now

We’re silent as sparrows in the little bushes?

Some masters say our life lasts only seven days.

Where are we in the week? Is it Thursday yet?

Hurry, cry now! Soon Sunday night will come.

Thomas R. Smith

Now our great-grandparents' lives are moving

farther away from us: the hours they spent

learning to play piano because they

longed to hear Chopin, the prairie light

so clear on weathered boards of the shed.

They are moving farther away from us

and taking the scripture pages they pondered,

while death creeps up on the television-

watchers admiring ‘shock and awe’ effects

in the night sky over Mesopotamia.

The holy books themselves are leaving, because

they can’t stand the missiles’ blaspheming,

our contempt for simple aspirations,

for ordinary and peaceful needs, and because

we are bombing rivers that fed the Garden.

Our ancestors don’t want to be with us

anymore, they are leaving us now and going

back to the old country to stand inside

the doomed cities and become the dying

children whom Christ asked to “come unto Him.”

Along with the readings was the performance by a collection of St. Joan’s best musicians. Deb Harley, Dan Chouinard, Steve Kremer, Lee Vagle, Bob Hansen and Shane Speltz transcended the mix of poetry and music creatively. Deb composed a Ghandi style ‘peace song’ interpreting a Hindu phrase into the words Love, Love, Love. With the accompanists chanting below her lyrics she put the crowd into a trance of tranquility. Hopefully, we will be treated to it’s magic again. Her contributing efforts along with the others towards the evening were a genuine gift.

Peg LaSota comes from a photography background. She now works in the digital world, computer instruction, and with "videography" and the restoration of family films. She is enthusiastic about capturing family memories and preserving them digitally. Along with that, her time is spent with her family and her love for learning Spanish, piano, recorder.....and of course singing with the choir!

This was only one of many nights to come for those of us looking for words to express our thoughts and meaning in what is going on. For further exploration of this empowering art form, I encourage you to look at www.poetsagainstthewar.org where upcoming events will be listed and other news. Look for another gathering at the end of April at Macalaster College.

JJ Jackson is a new member of the webteam and involved in real estate.