Artistes opposed to a new war with Iraq are finding creative ways to mobilise popular dissent, including public readings of pacifist plays and poetry from modern and ancient times.

On Monday, actors in 56 countries staged performances and readings of an anti-war satire called Lysistrata by the Greek playwright Aristophanes. Written in the midst of the Peloponnesian War, the play tells the story of women in two war-torn states who in desperation decide to withhold sex from their husbands until they agree to a truce.

The readings followed o­n the heels of worldwide simultaneous demonstrations and rallies against the pending war o­n Feb15, where an estimated six million people participated.

In New York City alone, more than 60 readings of Lysistrata took place at theatres, schools and other public venues o­n the weekend and Monday. A packed performance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music featured Hollywood stars like Kevin Bacon, F Murray Abraham and Mercedes Ruhl.

More than 1,000 readings were scheduled to take place in all 50 US states and other countries including China, Syria, Israel, Lebanon and Thailand. Most were free of charge, but others raised money for charities working for peace and humanitarian aid in the Middle East and elsewhere.

The Lysistrata Project is the brainchild of New York actors Kathryn Blume and Sharron Bower, who said they were amazed at how quickly it took off.

"Before we started Lysistrata Project, we could do nothing but sit and watch in horror as the Bush administration drove us toward a unilateral attack o­n Iraq," said Blume, who conceived the idea just six weeks ago. "So we emailed all our friends and put up a web site. The response has been enormous."

Headlong rush

Dozens of artistes from every musical genre have also come forward to protest what they see as a headlong rush to war.

Rappers Jay-Z and Busta Rhymes, singers Natalie Merchant and Sheryl Crow, and veteran artistes George Clinton, REM., David Byrne and Lou Reed were among the names listed under the slogan 'war o­n Iraq is wrong and we know it' in an ad taken out by a group called 'musicians united to win without war' that ran last week in the New York Times.

"Don't let Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld drown out the voices of reason," the ad reads, referring to the president, vice-president, and defence secretary. "Disarm Iraq with tough inspections."

The Bush administration does not seem inclined to follow the advice.

On Monday, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said that there is virtually no chance that Iraq can comply with its demands o­n disarmament.

"Here's the Catch-22 that Saddam Hussein has put himself in," Fleischer said. "He denied he had these weapons, and then he destroys things he says he never had. If he lies about never having them, how can you trust him when he says he's destroyed them?"

"The president has said the timetable (for an invasion) is weeks, not months. He said that just over a month ago. And nothing has changed that timetable," he added.

With war imminent, peace groups are stepping up efforts to sway public opinion. o­n March 5, a group called Poets Against the War will hold an International Day of Poetry Against the War, with poets around the world giving readings and discussions of their work.

On Capitol Hill, three of the US' pre-eminent living poets will present some 15,000 anti-war poems to members of Congress.

Speak up

Poets Against the War was formed after first lady Laura Bush cancelled a January poetry event at the White House when word leaked out that several of the invitees planned to read anti-war poems.

Outcry over the cancellation built rapidly. o­n Feb 17, more than 2,000 people braved blizzard conditions to attend a reading called 'poems not fit for the White House' at New York City's Lincoln Centre.

Sam Hamill, a prominent poet and o­ne of the invitees to the aborted White House event, decided to create a web site for postings of anti-war poetry. Within days, 2,000 poems were posted o­n the site. By the start of February, there were 9,000. There are now more than 13,000, with more posted every day, many from some of the best-known poets in the country.

The Lysistrata Project and other groups have also declared a Moratorium to Stop the War o­n Iraq o­n March 5, calling for spontaneous individual actions such as teach-ins, student walkouts and business shutdowns.

"Our purpose is to make it very clear that President Bush does not speak for all Americans. Our message is simple: if you oppose this war, then speak up," Blume said. - IPS