I was recently asked to help a composer friend locate a “social justice poem” in the public domain for a song he’s been commissioned to write. My internet search located a “Public Domain Poetry” site, but even cooler than that, is this site, “World Poetry Movement” and the long long lists of international poetry festivals and poets who are joined in “poetic action” — for social justice and peace. Amazing really. Pretty good for a Monday!
Poetic action: Any activity designed socially, through the intervention of the poets making contributions with his creative art, from the perspective of audience development at the level of poetry readings and of training activities with the poetic culture. These acts may also be symbolic expressions of solidarity with movements that aim for causes that do benefit planetary life, inclusion, justice and diversity, generating cultural interactions and promoting an aesthetic and ethical sense of existence.
You can download a 21-page PDF “Poetry Planet” magazine, and read poems in Spanish, Farsi, Mayan, and English, and articles about poets from those countries, Israel, Turkey and the Netherlands. It’s a delight.
(Their site seems very slow, so be patient.)
Cupertino Poet Laureate 