On Saturday, May 10, 23 students from Alachua county schools will read their peace poems aloud at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship as winners of the 2014 Peace Poetry Contest. The fifth annual Peace Poetry Contest began in January, inviting all K-12 students of Alachua County schools, both public and private, to submit one poem on what peace means to them. A team of English graduate students from the University of Florida, led by Dr. Sidney Wade, evaluated and judged the almost 400 poems according to age group. From those poems, 23 readers were chosen to perform their pieces on May 10th, and will have their winning poems published in the 2014 Peace Poetry booklet. Winners also receive a gift certificate to a local bookstore. Though this contest holds no formal position on the current state of world affairs, we still want to honor the ideal of peace through the perspectives of young people. Peace is a uniquely human conception and affirms the human spirit. It is especially important to remember that peace is not merely a goal but a human right. In that spirit of reflection, we are very pleased with the success of this year’s contest. We would especially like to thank the many teachers who encourage their students to participate every year, and to all of the young poets who wrote such beautiful, moving poems. This year’s reading will be held on Saturday, May 10, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Gainesville (4225 NW 34th St.), from 2pm to 4pm. The event will include the inspiring readings by the student poets and music by Gainesville’s own Blackfire. Refreshments will be served after the program. The reception is free and open to the public. For more information on the 2014 Poetry Reading, please contact the organizers at vfppeacepoetrycontest@gmail.com, or 352-373-3435. For a peek at last years’ Peace Poetry reading and reception, check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crpsG4siKwM The Samuel Proctor Oral History Program Director Paul Ortiz 241 Pugh Hall University of Florida Gainesville, Florida 32611 352 392-7168 http://oral.history.ufl.edu/ Edit by Deborah Hendrix May 2015 Cat. No. VIDS 122

• published: 03 May 2015
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