An invitation to write or draw about peace has been announced for anyone under 19 years of age.
Powell River Live Poets’ Guild is hosting its sixth annual Youth Peace-Poem competition, and this year art entries are also being accepted.
The competition grew out of an initiative called the International Peace Poem, started on Maui in 1996 and now becoming the world’s longest poem. Written mainly by youth from around the world, its 100,000-plus lines describe love, understanding and hope. In Hawaii the competition involves over 400 schools and the project has spread beyond the islands.
The guild brought the Peace Poem scroll to Powell River in 2008 and began hosting the annual competition for everyone under 19, with awards for the best peace poems at class, group, division and grand levels, plus publication of all winning poems in a book, the Powell River International Peace Poetry Anthology. This year will continue the tradition.
There is no limit to the number of entries that can be submitted before the May 1 deadline. Entry forms are available from schools, Powell River Public Library, Breakwater Books and Coffee, Kingfisher Books, or by calling the Live Poets’ Guild at 604.483.4940. More information about the peace poem can be found online.
