Write a Poem to Help End Hunger
Art is a powerful force for change. Art can raise awareness, inspire thought and even drive action. So maybe, just maybe, a poem can fight hunger.
“I think it can be a real effective tool in raising the public’s awareness to the cause,” says local poet Hiram Larew.
In that hope, Larew convinced the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization office in Washington, D.C., to support a poetry competition in honor of World Food Day.
World Food Day, October 16, commemorates the United Nations’ founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization in 1945. Its theme changes yearly. Last year’s theme was changing the future of migration through investing in food security. This year’s theme is taking concrete actions to eliminate world hunger by 2030.
Putting a call for action — specific action — into moving words is what the poetry competition is all about.
Hunger is a local issue as well as a national and international one. In Maryland, one in eight households still face hunger on a regular basis.
Poems for the competition can be about hunger in the poet’s backyard, neighborhood, or community, as well as about worldwide hunger.
Put your hand and words to that, if you’re an adult in Anne Arundel, Howard, Montgomery or Prince George’s counties, the District of Columbia or Virginia’s Arlington, Fairfax and Loudon counties.
Submit up to two poems, with no entry fee. Submission deadline is September 9. Find a full set of rules and guidelines on the Poetry X Hunger Facebook page.
“Give poetry a chance to do its good work on this incredibly important problem we have at home and around the world,” Larew invites.
–Cassi Whitehead