Since 1998, Bandon Library Friends and Foundation has sponsored an annual Youth Poetry Competition.
Celia Piehl was a poet and Bandon resident. Many of the poems she wrote were about the people she knew and loved, and about the land itself, which she appreciated in all its wildness and splendour. When she died in 1997, her husband, William Piehl, compiled a book of her poems, “Life Times II – Poems and Thoughts of Celia Piehl.” He has selected these works as ones which might speak, most particularly, to “A Season for Non-Violence.”
Celia Piehl, a lifelong supporter of civil and personal rights, a social worker-counselor and poet, died in 1997. She was a direct descendant of the first governor of Vermont who fought in the American Revolution. She lived and worked in Coos County Oregon for 23 years. She devoted her life to change that would lead to understanding, peace and unity among people, regardless of their various backgrounds and differences.
Enjoy four of Celia Piehl’s poems reproduced here:
As One Woman of Thousands at Douglas
Will Piehl, devoted husband, instituted the Youth Poetry Contest in memory of Celia. He was involved in promoting the annual contest and chaired the effort for many years. Will died at 100 years old in 2013.