Late last year, before Barack Obama took office as U.S. President, he announced that he and First Lady Michelle Obama intended to bring poets and musicians into the White House, to “open up the White House and remind people this is the people’s house.” They have already hosted musical artists like Fergie, Stevie Wonder, Sweet Honey in the Rock, and Earth Wind & Fire, and they have invited a select group to the first ever “poetry slam” in the White House this Tuesday.
from East Wing Rules (a blog about “the social graces at 1600”):
“White House Poetry Slam or Jam?”
“Poetry slam” is in quotes in our post’s title because the evening’s program doesn't sound like an actual poetry slam—the invited artists include Mayda Del Valle, who is known as a slam poet, but also novelist Michael Chabon, bassist Esperanza Spalding, pianist ELEW and playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda. But poetry slam has deep roots in Chicago, one of Obama’s home towns, and being a poet himself, I imagine Obama has ideas about slam, so it may well be that an actual poetry slam is staged at the White House this week. We’d love to hear about the event from someone who’s there Tuesday—if any of the select few invitees read this blog, please email your impressions of the evening, or comment below.
Guide Note: The slam turned out to be a poetry jam, and after that evening, we posted reviews and links to the White House video of the event.
Comments
The Revolution
(WWW.josieg6.wordpress.com – Help me come home)
When the Revolution
of Evolution
Pushes a mans instinct PAST the continual
Degradation and Pollution
of a Womans Soul…
When a man can care about Children,
BEFORE he has his own….
Not caving to Peer Pressure to disown-
When a man can Say It,
and Mean It, and then-
Make It Happen,
Then will we be whole.
Time waits for no man.
And distances damage
relationships beyond repair.
The Y chromosome needs a revolution.
Til then, We’re not going anywhere.
Loved your Poem, Josie.
Am looking very much forward to
reading your comparative Woman
Poem.
Frank Pavlick
Hello everyone. Let me introduce myself, i am your biggest critic, I am that voice you will never silence, I am the eyes that stare straight through you, I am the hands that tear down your expectations, I am the ears that hear your false promises and glib re-directions, and I am the nose that smells your fear.
You hide anything that makes you a true individual, you hide behind your clothing, your peers, and the expectations of others. it’s safer to let everyone else define you, It’s simple, It’s safe isn’t it, you’re just another dog in the pack, content to let the alpha male make the first tears at the fresh carcass, shunning the one who questions the entity who makes you feel safe and sound. Afraid to bite the hand that feeds, the hand that dictates when your next survival fix comes. I say bite the hand, better yet make a full course meal out of it. But you won’t because you wonder where the next meal will come from. Content to be akin to the domesticated family dog, recoiling at the firm smack on the snout when you get too ambitious, but tail always wagging at the occasional friendly scratch behind the ear.
This is the silent elegy sung by true free-thinkers, criticized for asking questions, ridiculed for opinions that remove you from your comfort zones, and silenced by those afraid of the ones who don’t accept every sugar coated euphemism thrown in front of their face accompanied by scintillating colors and clever misdirection.
But I suppose the old adage “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil” is the most simple mantra isn’t it. It’s easier just to shut up and accept it, isn’t it? I guess it keeps you out of the proverbial cross-hairs. Just take the bribe and shut up like they say. Just watch the pretty pictures, and let the world spin, right?