Projects (Updated April 2009)
Poems Against War:
A Journal of Poetry and Action was started in May 2003 as a response to the
invasion of Iraq, and especially because most literary magazines failed to publish poems addressing it (a continuing situation).
The second Iraq war began on March 19, 2003. The journal since has published seven issues
and sold over 800 copies, distributing 40-plus American and some international poets. The journal has a Web site at www.poemsagainstwar.com Gimmie Shelter Productions: The Benefits Reading Series Gimmie Shelter is a collective of
Baltimore writers and musicians collaborating to organize readings that raise money for charities
while raising awareness. The ongoing Community Harvest Reading Series continues in 2009 to raise money to purchase fresh
produce for Baltimore homeless shelters, especially Heart's Place Shelter at St John's Church in Baltimore. As organizer Marcus Colasurdo notes,
many homeless people and children lack access to fresh foods needed to be healthy, even when served free meals.
Our last campaign was called Water for the Wells, which raised $1,200 to build a single well in Mali, East Africa, through the
ongoing work of Lutheran World Relief.
From the summer 2007 to the last reading at the Minas Gallery in Baltimore on June 28, 2008 we raised slightly over $1,200, turning words and songs eventually into water. The largest and most memorable production occurred on Nov. 3, 2007,
when Water for the Wells performed the musical-poetic four-part theater piece, Holy Water, at 2640 in St. John’s Church. For more information on Water for the
Wells, see this
article linked here.