FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Three Girls Media & Marketing Inc.
(408) 871-0377
Emily Sidley, emilysidley@threegirlsmedia.com
Kate Barton, katebarton@threegirlsmedia.com
Global EventEmbraces Local Issues Through Poetry, Music, Art and More
Nearly 700 EventsPlanned in More Than 115 Countries for
100 Thousand Poetsfor Change
SantaRosa, Calif. (August 14, 2012) – September 29, 2012 marks the second annual globalevent of 100 Thousand Poets for Change, a grassroots organization that bringspoets, artists and musicians (new this year) together to call for environmental,social, and political change, within the framework of peace and sustainability.The local focus is key to this global event as communities around the worldraise their voices through concerts, readings, workshops, flash mobs anddemonstrations that speak to the heart of their specific area of concerns, suchas homelessness, ecocide, racism and censorship.
“Peaceand sustainability is a major concern worldwide, and the guiding principle forthis global event,” said Michael Rothenberg, Co-Founder of 100 Thousand Poetsfor Change. “We are in a world where it isn't just one issue thatneeds to beaddressed. A common ground is built through this global compilationof local stories, which is how we create a true narrative for discourseto inform the future.”
Organizers and participants are hoping through theiractions and events to seize and redirect the political and social dialogue ofthe day and turn the narrative of civilization towards peace andsustainability. Those that want to get involved can visit www.100tpc.org to find an event near them orsign up to organize one in their area.
There are nearly 700 events planned worldwide,including:
• 25 different events in the San Francisco Bay Area,the birthplace of 100 Thousand Poets for Change, with live poetry readings byBeat Legend Michael McClure, former US Poet Laureate Robert Hass and other majorpoets
• The Occupy Wall Street Poetry group kicks off aweekend of events in New York City with a poetry reading at the famous St.Mark’s Poetry Project
• Peace On Streets, R.O.A.D., Tasker Elite and SHARPwill host performance artists, poets, musicians, hip hop artists and variousyouth and parent groups who will perform and lead workshops throughoutPhiladelphia to bring awareness to the ongoing problem of street violence intheir city
• Wordstock, a 3 day festival at the Bamboo Arts andCelebration Center in De Leon Springs, FL, will include poetry slams, concerts,and an art exhibition focusing on images of war and peace
• In New Orleans, a blues festival featuring tenbands will help raise funds for medical care for aging musicians
• In Jamaica a week long Street Dub Vibe seriescalled “Tell the Children the Truth” will include concerts, spoken wordperformances, art exhibits, lectures, and workshops to bring attention to thedamaging culture of secrecy and denial surrounding the abuse, poverty andilliteracy impacting the nation’s children and destroying their future.
• Poetry andpeace gatherings are planned in the strife-torn cities of Kabul and Jalalabad,Afghanistan
• In Cairoand Alexandria, Egypt, poets, musicians and mime artists, in response to the revolution in Egypt and the majorchanges taking place in the Arab World, will perform in public spaces andtheaters and explore new ways to communicate their concerns, and their roles asartists, in influencing the future of their country
• In Volos, Greece, there will be 5 days of poetryand music events, including an exhibition of photography looking at the newphenomenon of homelessness in Greece
• An event in Blackpool, England will celebrateactivist poets and writers of past generations through a special performance ofBullets and Daffodils, a play aboutthe life of peace poet Wilfred Owen
100 Thousand Poets for Change began in Sonoma County,Calif. The official Headquarters’Event will take place at the Arlene Francis Center indowntown Santa Rosa and will feature poetryreadings, group meditations, workshops, and music and dance of various stylesincluding hip hop, flamenco, African drums, reggae, salsa, folk and more. TheHQ event will also live-stream other 100 Thousand Poets for Change eventsworldwide. This 3-day event is sponsored by the Peace & Justice Center ofSonoma County and the Sonoma County Arts Council.
Immediately following September 29th, alldocumentation on the 100TPC.org website, which will include specific eventpages with photos, video and other documentation compiled by each citycoordinator, will be preserved by Stanford University in California. Stanfordrecognized 100 Thousand Poets for Change in 2011 as an historical event, thelargest poetry reading in history. They will continue to archive the completecontents of 100TPC.org, as part of their digital archiving program LOCKSS.
About 100 Thousand Poets for Change
Co-Founder Michael Rothenberg(walterblue@bigbridge.org) is a widely known poet,
editor of the online literary magazine Bigbridge.organd an environmental activist based
in Northern California. Terri Carrion is a poet,translator, photographer, and editor and visual designer for BigBridge.org.
100 Thousand Poets for Change
P.O. Box 870
Guerneville, Ca 95446
Phone: 305-753-4569
www.100TPC.org