Protest through poetry

Poets joined together Wednesday night for a different kind of anti-war protest. During the "National Day of Poetry Against the War," members of the Matrix, a literary group in Bloomington, and other poets overran Expresso Royale Cafe, 430 E. Kirkwood Ave. \nThe meeting was part of a nation-wide response to first lady Laura Bush's cancellation of a White House-sponsored poetry reading. Bush's event, intended to honor the poets Langston Hughes, Walt Whitman and Emily Dickenson, was called off when she learned that anti-war sentiments might be expressed at the event. \nPoet Sam Hamill, founder of the Copper Canyon Press, urged poets to submit anti-war poems to the Web site poetsagainstthewar.org. The site intends to deliver the works to the White House in protest of the event's cancellation. To date, some 5,300 poems have been submitted to the site, and anti-war poetry readings were scheduled across the country in further protest.\nWhen Bloomington resident Tony Brewer learned one of these readings would be held at Butler University in Indianapolis, he and other Matrix members decided to hold an anti-war reading of their own.\n"This could have been a meeting of the minds," said Brewer of the cancelled White House gathering of poets. "Probably all they see when they think of protesting is signs and people bundled up against the cold, screaming, chanting, drumming, that sort of thing. This … could have been a much more eloquent and thoughtful way of expressing those views and (Laura Bush) denied it and I think that's a shame."\nBrewer said the Bloomington event was thrown together in a matter of a few days, and publicity was done through e-mail, word of mouth and "a very little bit" of fliering. A crowd of approximately 50 people turned out, squeezing into the hard wood-floored coffee house to listen and share sentiments.\n"I think people getting together in Bloomington to speak for peace is really important," said IU Junior Sarah Graub, "especially in the form of poetry, to shift away from the standard ways of dispute and go for something more creative, because poetry is truly non-violence."\nThe subject matter of the poetry ranged from the dropping of the atomic bomb during World War II, to one poet's experiences with her father, a veteran of the war in Vietnam. \n"Our community is a community unto itself and it should have something to say about the war," said Matrix member and Bloomington resident Lora Wagers. "There are so many war protests around town but this is more like a forum to hear different opinions about it, not just, 'We're all against the war.'"\nMost people seemed to agree that Mrs. Bush should not have cancelled the event. \n"In some ways everyone reading here tonight is sort of preaching to the choir," said Bloomington resident Kris Hartner. "99 percent of you all are here because you don't agree with what the U.S. government's doing, in terms of Iraq, in terms of Afghanistan and in terms of Civil Liberties that's going on"