Port Townsend poet to take anti-war message to New York City

PORT TOWNSEND — Local poet Sam Hamill wasn’t too disappointed when First Lady Laura Bush canceled the symposium on Poetry and the American Voice.

He’d been invited to participate, but declined to go.

So Hamill wasn’t surprised Wednesday when the White House refused delivery of 7,500 poems he’d asked poets to submit, deepening the rift between the Port Townsend poet and editor and the White House.

“They’re still afraid of poetry,” Hamill said Wednesday after learning of the White House’s refusal to accept the package containing the poems with an anti-war theme.

“They showed bad taste and bad judgment,” Hamill said. “It’s kind of a stupid move on their part.”

Not true, said a spokeswoman for Mrs. Bush.

—————–

The rest of the story appears in the Thursday Peninsula Daily News. Click on SUBSCRIBE, above, to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.