By Tim Saunders on
Yoko Ono is to recreate a peace promotion she originally carried out in 1969 with her husband, John Lennon, to celebrate its 40th anniversary.
The 76-year-old artist will send acorns to 123 world leaders – including Barack Obama – encouraging them to strive for world peace. Each world leader will receive two acorns in a transparent box with the inscription “Acorn Peace by John And Yoko, Spring 2009”.
On 15 June 1968, John Lennon and Yoko Ono planted two acorns for peace at Coventry Cathedral. The acorns were planted in east and westerly positions, symbolizing the meeting of the couple and the union of their two cultures. This was the first of many peace events that the couple would initiate throughout their lives. They followed the planting by sending acorns to world leaders in the hope that they would plant oak trees in their gardens.
Beatles fans will remember and recognize the stunt from the lyrics of their number 1 hit The Ballad of John and Yoko: “Caught the early plane back to London/Fifty acorns tied in a sack/The men from the press said, ‘We wish you success, it’s good to have the both of you back’”.
To see the letter Ono has written to Obama, as well as the original letters she received from world leaders in 1969, visit the Imagine Peace website.
Copyright © 2009 Look to the Stars
