JUST A FEW POETRY X HUNGER 2023 HIGHLIGHTS

 

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Well, 2023 has been quite the year for Poetry X Hunger and its poets! I don’t have what it takes to list all the accomplishments, but I can touch on a few of the highlights.

On the heels of the successful fundraising collaboration with Feed the Children and The Poartry Project in December of 2022, Poetry X Hunger continued its efforts to raise awareness as well as funds for many across the globe who are hungry. I’ve provided a few highlights below.

In 2023, Poetry X Hunger teamed up once again with Feed the Children to produce an awareness and fundraising video which used Josephine Lore’s poem Enough (first published on poetryxhunger.com) as the foundation of the video. According to a missive from Feed the Children, the video’s “potential reach is typically 121M [as in million!] with the US National distribution…” resulting from the video's distribution to “429 outlets” on September 6, 2023.

And Josephine’s poetry was not carrying the anti-hunger banner by itself. Another example of a Poetry X Hunger poet making a difference is Patti Ross, who was named the first Poet in Residence at the Anne Arundel County Food Bank. Her poetry was featured on the food bank’s website in July.

Among Poetry X Hunger’s most gratifying efforts in 2023, was the Hunger Action Day event in September, where Poetry X Hunger poets joined with Seed Programs International and SCINE- Sustainable Community Initiative for Empowerment to raise funds for school gardens in Uganda. Actual funds raised exceeded the event’s goals, supporting the potential creation of three school gardens instead of the projected one. You can view a video of the event here and read more about the initiative on the Poetry X Hunger blog here.

Consistent with its efforts to join hands with all organizations that are willing to use poetry to enhance the human condition, in November 2023, Poetry X Hunger embraced the opportunity to participate in NatureCulture’s Authors & Artists Festival 2023: Rewilding. Several Poetry X Hunger poets read hunger poetry in a segment of the festival dedicated to hunger poetry. You can view a video of the Poetry X Hunger segment here, and here is a link to the playlist for all of the 2023 Authors & Artists Festival videos. For Facebook users, there is plenty to be found on NatureCulture’s facebook page.

Poetry X Hunger also joined forces with Global Learning in Agriculture (GLAG), a Pennsylvania State University initiative, whose mission is to “..empower educators through quality professional development in global agriculture and food security.” The purpose of the collaboration is to engage and assist teaching professionals in using poetry in the various ways it can be used in the global effort to alleviate hunger. Here’s a video of Hiram with key members of the GLAG team discussing the role that poetry can play.

It feels like I could go on indefinitely, but I’ll close with Poetry X Hunger’s May 2023 collaboration in the Conversations on Food Justice series, which is spearheaded by Share Our Strength and Food & Society at the Aspen Institute. According to Share Our Strength’s website, the series is, “…an ongoing speaking series that examines the roots and evolution of the food justice movement and its connection to race and class, health, education and the environment.”  You can read more about Poetry X Hunger’s participation in that conversation here.

It appears that Poetry X Hunger’s influence continues to grow and is likely to continue growing in 2024. For example, just recently, Francesca Saracino, Coordinator, Clio Health, invited Poetry X Hunger to submit the Feed the Children video, If Words Were Enough, for the 2024 Clio Health Awards, and Feed the Children has indicated that the organization will submit the video for consideration. How cool is that!

I wish I had it in me to truly detail all the terrific things Hiram Larew and Poetry X Hunger have been involved in this year, and I’m glad that you don’t have to rely on me and can find most of what transpires in the realm of Poetry X Hunger on the Poetry X hunger blog and its Facebook page.

In closing, I am truly grateful for the opportunities I have had to contribute to the public good through my affiliation with Hiram Larew and Poetry X Hunger! If I had a wish for 2024 it would be that more of the poets whose poetry is featured among the approximately 400 poems published on poetryxhunger.com would engage more with the website, events, the Facebook group and the Facebook page. Thanks to those of you who did in 2023!