I just got this mailing from a dear poet-activist friend back in New York who is one of the organizers. So I thought I’d spread the word, for all those among you who aren’t afraid of poetry and of making themselves heard.

Split This Rock Poetry Festival: Poems of Provocation & Witness
Washington, DC March 20-23, 2008

Split This Rock Poetry Festival calls poets to a greater role in public life and fosters a national network of activist poets. Building the audience for poetry of provocation and witness from our home in the nation’s capital, we celebrate poetic diversity and the transformative power of the imagination. Featuring readings, workshops, panels, contests, walking tours, film, parties, and activism! See the website for the incredible line-up of poets, including Jimmy Santiago Baca, Lucille Clifton, Mark Doty, Martín Espada, Sam Hamill, Galway Kinnell, Naomi Shihab Nye, Sonia Sanchez, and many more. Split This Rock is cosponsored by DC Poets Against the War, Sol & Soul, Busboys and Poets, and the Institute for Policy Studies.

Register today! Registration is only $75 before March 10, $40 for students, and includes entry to all readings, workshops, panels, receptions, walking tours, and other activities. Register online here. You can also download a form and send it in. Scholarships available.

Support Split This Rock, the historic gathering of activist poets: Every dollar you give is tax-deductible through our fiscal sponsor, the Institute for Policy Studies. Just click here and be sure to designate “Split This Rock” as the project you’d like to support. Or send a check payable to “IPS/Split This Rock” to: IPS, 1112 16th Street, NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036. Many thanks! Your contribution will make a tremendous difference.