Bloomington poets to take part in global peace event

Today, poets in 200 venues around the world will make an effort toward peace by reading their work. One of those readings will take place in Bloomington.\nThe Leo R. Dowling International Center, 111 S. Jordan Ave. will be host to a poetry reading event entitled "Dialogue Among Civilizations Through Poetry" as part of a weeklong celebration of poetry throughout the world. Organized by graduate student Phil Metres, the reading is meant to comment on peace and humanity through poetry.\n"What attracted me to the International Poetry Week was the fact that poetry has different ways of bringing people and cultures together," Metres said.\nThe reading in Bloomington is one of 250 different readings being conducted worldwide. Russian, African, Arabic, Spanish and Korean are a few of the cultures which will be represented in the reading today.\n"Poetry is the language of the soul," graduate student Nasrin Farrokh-Hekmat said. "It expresses a certain sensitivity to the life around you and the world inside you."\nMetres said the reading has a higher purpose than aesthetic gratification. \n"I'm interested in peace, non-violence and a less oppressive world. I think listening to voices from all over the world is a great way to break down the biased flow of information in this country," Metres said. "In particular, under-represented cultural groups can make themselves heard quite effectively through poetry."\nSupported by the International Center, the poetry community in Bloomington and human rights activists concerned with international issues, the event is sponsored by the Bloomington Coalition for Peace and the Committee for Peace in the Middle East.\nThe event attempts to combine the art of poetry with the age-old message of peace and non-violence.\n"I'm interested in how poetry interacts with politics and how people express their opinions and feelings in artistic ways," senior Amy Thompson said. \n"Poetry is a vehicle of people's expressions and can be used to express one's convictions of non-violence," Thompson said.\nThe reading will be open to anyone interested in sharing poetry from their culture. \n"We will have a sign-up sheet for interested people. Everyone is welcome," Metres said.\nThe evening will consist of poetry from all over the world. The poetry will include original poetry written by the speakers themselves and traditional poetry written centuries ago.\n"The event is an eclectic mix of voices and languages crying out for peace," Metres said.\n"Dialogue Among Civilizations Through Poetry" will take place from 4-6 p.m. today at the Leo R. Dowling International Center, 111 S. Jordan Ave. The event is free.