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Donostia-San Sebastian.  The Condor Legion of the Nazi army, allies with General Franco, bombed Gernika 75 years ago, on April 26^th.  Since then, the city that is the symbol of Basque sovereignty has become an international icon of pacifism and rejection of war.  According to Euskal PEN Klub, art and words had a lot to do with this process: everyone already knows the impact that Picasso’s Gernika had but also the decisive testimony provided by the British journalist George Steer, chronicling the event in The Times newspaper dismounted the Francoist version that blamed the attack on the Republican Army.

Now, on the 75th anniversary of the massacre, Euskal PEN Klub intends to reaffirm the rejection of war for peace, inviting writers from around the world to make their contribution. The association will collect poems about Gernika and “the other Gernikas” until March 31, 2012. The poems can be sent in the author’s original language, and in case it isn't Basque, a translation into Basque, Spanish, French, English or German should be included.  It is also requested that a brief introduction of the author accompany the poems.

The poems will be read during the events in honor of the day, and will also be published by the Euskal PEN Klub.

Submissions may be emailed to:  pen@euskalpen.org, or via tradition mail to:

Euskal PEN
Agoitz Plaza 1
48015 Bilbo, Bizkaia
Euskal Herria

-Euskal PEN Klub’s website: www.euskalpen.org