October 9th—Peace Action Maine (PAM) will celebrate its 25th Anniversary with an evening of speakers, music and a reflection on the struggle for peace in a world at war. PAM will be hosting a dinner at 307 Congress St at the Guild Hall in Portland on October 27th, 5:30-9:00 PM with speakers Kathy Kelly and poet David Smith-Ferri. October 27th is the national and regional day of actions against the war, called by United for Peace and Justice. Peace Action Maine is the state’s oldest and largest organization working for peace and justice.

“I was fortunate to work with both of these speakers in Iraq and in efforts throughout the United States to prevent the current war,” states Danny Muller, Executive Director of Peace Action Maine. “It is important to recognize that during the period of 1991-2003, the US government sent four representatives to Iraq. Kathy Kelly and Voices in the Wilderness sent over four hundred. It is this kind of witness, dialogue and direct action that is even more necessary for us to explore today than it was before the war.”

Kathy Kelly is an internationally recognized writer, speaker and activist, who has worked in Haiti, Bosnia, and throughout the Middle East. In over two dozen trips to Iraq since 1996, Kelly broke economic sanctions and tried to prevent the current war with Iraq, as cofounder of Voices in the Wilderness. She has served time in prison for anti war actions and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times. She spent the past summer in Amman, Jordan working to aid Iraqi refugees.

David Smith-Ferri is an activist poet, whose newly released book, Battlefield without Borders portrays his encounters with Iraqi people and the events that have shaped their lives over the last eight years. Many of the poems were written in Iraq. Smith-Ferri writes in language that is accessible and powerful, and in a voice that is grounded in his experience. His poems are both a reflection on that experience and an attempt to voice the longings and the perspective of people caught in the vortex of war—Iraqi people and the families of US soldiers. All proceeds from Battlefield without Borders will go directly to Iraqi victims of war.

To arrange an interview, please call 207 772 0680.