I want to read poems at the white house wearing my favorite clothes probably a hoodie or perhaps my Belgian suit.
Belgium is a failed state in the heart of Europe which is something to aspire to.
–Joshua Clover “I Want to Read at the White House”
(Source: SoundCloud / The Poetry Foundation)
Jeffrey Brown talks with Richard Blanco, the poet chosen to read at President Obama’s second swearing-in, about what it means to be a part of the festivities. Blanco, a Spanish born Cuban-American, is the first Latino, openly gay, as well as the youngest poet to ever at a presidential inauguration.
(Source: poetryfoundation.org)
–Richard Blanco, from “América”
Read the rest of the poem here. We’re just minutes away from hearing Blanco’s inaugural poem.
(Source: poetryfoundation.org)
Inaugural poet Richard Blanco talks about writing three poems for President Obama’s ceremony on Monday. At 44, Blanco is the youngest inaugural poet in the nation’s history.
–Miller Williams, Poetry, June 1986
Just after the Golden Globes, a poem from the inaugural poet for Bill Clinton’s second term, Miller Williams. (The poem he read for the inauguration in 1997 is available here. More information about this year’s inaugural poet, Richard Blanco, is available here.)
(Source: poetryfoundation.org)
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