Poetry X Hunger: Bringing Poetry to Bear in the Fight against Hunger

Thanks to Liz Reitzig of Nourishing Liberty for posting the following note in the most recent issue of the Real Food Consumer Coalition's newsletter. 

This corner of the newsletter is about our small-town heroes in the local food movement. Do you have someone you’d like to highlight? Drop us a note and let us know.

Today, we highlight Hiram Larew who founded Poetry X Hunger. Hunger in the U.S. and around the world is on the rise even as advocacy groups indicate that hunger is entirely preventable.

“While all kinds of traditional tools – science-centered, environmentally-attuned, economically-savvy, and/or culturally appropriate – are being used to try to reduce hunger, headway in the struggle is going to require help from all quarters, including the arts,” states Larew. “That’s why I started an informal initiative called Poetry X Hunger – to enlist the help of poets in the fight against hunger.”
Over the years, poetry has been used very effectively to raise awareness and concern over many social issues like homelessness, social inequity, and racial bias. But, it hasn’t been as intently brought to bear in the fight against hunger. Poetry X Hunger is intended to change that. By rousing powerful poetic voices to the cause, the initiative will hopefully reach, and even change, hearts and minds.
To find out more, take a minute to visit Poetry X Hunger where you can learn more and read poems by several poets in the U.S. and Africa along with hunger facts, historical accounts of hunger, and other prompts for poets.  
Or, check out Facebook at Poetry X Hunger where poems by several poets are showcased. 
And hey, feel free to send in a poem for possible posting!!
Larew notes that Maryland State Arts Council and the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization support the 2018 and 2019 World Food Day Poetry Competitions as implemented by Poetry X Hunger. 

Here is a photo of Hiram Larew at Woodlawn Estate in Fairfax, Virginia.

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