Poets Protest War

Whatever you think about war, and whatever you think about poetry, there is much to be admired about the Poets Against the War movement started by Sam Hamill, Port Townsend poet and cofounder of Copper Canyon Press. It started when Hamill received an invitation to Laura Bush's "American Voice" poetry symposium (slated to celebrate the work of Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, and Emily Dickinson) the day after reading about Bush's "Shock and Awe" plan for Iraq. The experience of this disconnect inspired him to write an e-mail to other invited poets, encouraging them to submit poems and "statements of conscience" for an anthology to present to the White House at the symposium.

The response, forwarded around the country, was overwhelming--2,000 submissions so far, to be posted on www.poetsagainstthewar.org-- and generated enough public attention that Mrs. Bush canceled the event, citing the inappropriateness of bringing politics into literary matters (imagine what Whitman would say to that!).

While I wonder if protest poetry can ever be great, since almost by definition it rejects ambiguity, ambivalence, and nuance--art's great qualities--I heartily salute these artists who refuse to shut up and be good aesthetic citizens. I'm so tired of politicians who take up arts for easy credibility and then drop them at the first sign of confrontation; who like their art tame and artists tamable; who tell us art is a luxury and expendable, but think counterculture a dangerous perversion of American principles. American voices indeed. EMILY HALL

Empty Space Parties for Rent

It's no secret that Seattle's theaters are hurting bad. Between the tanked economy and the impending war, funding and audiences have dwindled, leaving virtually every major (and semi-major) theatrical institution on deeply shaky ground.

Fremont's Empty Space Theatre is no exception. Having suffered extensive damage in the May 2001 earthquake, Empty Space's woes were only compounded by the crashing of the towers and the economy. The extent of Empty Space's troubles was made festively public this past Thursday, January 30, as a select corps of musicians, dancers, and sexy bartenders convened in Consolidated Works for a good old-fashioned rent party.

Never mind the tragic fact that Empty Space's most serious money woes in its 33-year history come in the midst of a stellar season--easily the most ambitious and exciting local season of the year. For the rent party, whining was set aside for inspired busking, most notably by Rat Cat Hogan's Herbert Bergel, who pledged to play a song with seven key changes while having his hair cut if the audience filled his cup with $300 by set's end. The audience complied, and Bergel's locks were buzzed as he played and sang the Long Winters' "Car Parts." In the end, the party raised close to $5,000, successfully helping Empty Space make its rent. Till next month.... DAVID SCHMADER