WordFest Writer’s Conference, Peace Poles, and Eames Chairs

Last week I spoke at WordFest, a writer’s conference in McPherson, Kansas. As I was leaving the library where it was held, I noticed a peace pole. We are fortunate in this area to have a number of them around.

The Peace Pole Project was started in 1955 in response to the bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is an official project of the World Peace Prayer Society. Each of them contains the message, “May Peace Prevail on Earth,” in multiple languages.

There is another one just a few miles away in Lindsborg near a labyrinth at a church near Bethany College. I don’t recall the languages on that one. There’s also one in North Newton on the Bethel College Campus.

This was just the cap of an interesting day interacting with other writers. I spoke about blogging, and why writers might want to use one to help promote themselves. As usual, I picked up some interesting ideas from others. It was a really well-organized event.

Another surprise in the day was that the library we were in has a healthy supply of vintage Eames chairs. Yes, real ones. I’ve never seen one except in a museum, and I’ve certainly never sat in one before. They’re very comfortable.

I did offer to buy them brand new chairs and take those old ones off their hands, but they were not interested in my offer!