On 27 September 2014, the city of Oss in the Netherlands participated for the first time in the Global Event Day of 100 Thousand Poets for Change.Organizer: Poëzie Podium Oss (PPO) 
Contacts PPO: Beppie Lotterman, President (info@beppielotterman.nl), and Marianna van Vugt (Board member), (m_a_van_vugt@hotmail.com).
Host of this first Event in Oss was Els de Groen, writer and poet
Contact Els de Groen: Artists_Initiative@ziggo.nl
Michael Rothenberg and Els de Groen learned to know each other through Artists Initiative “Khetanes”, a global site of artists with similar targets as 100 TPC.
Encouraged by Michael, Els contacted Poëzie Podium Oss, PPO, an active foundation and network of poets in Oss and surrounding area, and asked whether they were interested in contributing to the Event. Beppie Lotterman, president of PPO, and Marianna van Vugt, board member and webmaster, showed great interest and from that moment on things went fast.
There was not much time, however, to prepare the Event. That is why, together with the PPO, we decided that the first contribution had to be modest. At a sunny afternoon, late September, twelve poets met in the house of Els de Groen. After a short introduction by all artists present, amongst them also visual artists, people started performing their work: Karin Hamers, Els Bijkersma, Jan van den Boom, Jan Rikken, Eveline Weisberg, Mas Papo, Ad van Schijndel, Joan Themen, Astrid Noordam, Jan Emeldus, Geert de Haan, Marianna van Vugt and Els de Groen.
Themes were “foreign neighbors”, “Cold War” and “personal losses”, serious themes, but also humorous and funny poems were read. Meanwhile poets conferred on the goals of TPC and a possible follow up in 2015.
On 8 October, Marianna van Vugt and Els de Groen met again with Beppie Lotterman, who could not attend the Event for family reasons. On that very day, it was decided that Oss will participate again in 2015, preferably on a larger scale. The idea is to involve visual arts, photography to begin with, and perhaps to invite one or more schools to join. One of the poets is teaching art education at high schools in Oss. Maybe even a collection of poems could be published. Also the combination of music and poetry has been discussed.
One question presented itself: how to exchange information with poets from foreign countries, involved in 100 TPC Events? Should poems be performed, with the mp3’s sent, to enable foreign colleagues to hear the poems in the mother tongue? Or should poems (also)be translated, and in what language?
In the months to come, the feasibility of the options will be investigated. No shortage of enthusiasm!
Oss, October 15th 2014
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