Inaugural Poem

A. Hamilton · Jan 20, 2009

Praise Song for the Day by Elizabeth Alexander.
(note:the link gives a transcript as read, and not the formatting as written)

curious what the thoughts are on this.

to me, reading it now, it has the feel of a poetic speech, and there are some strong sentiments. a worthy poem for the day, not too obscure or flowery. what an honor and what pressure to be given this task.

however, I was disappointed in the reading of it, her style was was very stilted, she enunciated each word stiffly and put pauses in odd places, places not fitting for line breaks..which gave it a stiff feel, and stifled the power and emotion it could have had considering the occasion. because of this, I suspect the poem itself was lost on the audience. I saw many milling about and not paying attention during the reading (rude!).

your thoughts?

scarletpeaches · Jan 20, 2009

I agree with your point about her enunciation. She sounded as if she was so scared of mispronouncing words she tried too hard. She read the poem like a child who had just learned to read. Not charismatic at all. No life or warmth.

A. Hamilton · Jan 20, 2009

yes, disappointing.
she can be heard reading different poems here. still a bit stiff but the stops and line breaks make more sense. I'd guess that much of today's stiffness was nerves.

kdnxdr · Jan 20, 2009

link to the inaugural poem

For those of you who have not had the opportunity to read the poem:

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/20545

Dichroic · Jan 20, 2009

Oh good, thanks. I've heard it was read v ery badly, but am glad to have the chance to see the poem itself.

Stew21 · Jan 21, 2009

Merged these two threads.

NeuroFizz · Jan 21, 2009

I wasn't thrilled with it, but I haven't had time to go back and read the piece on "paper." In addition to the message, tone, and imagery of a publically spoken piece, I think about what it will do for the image of poets and poetry in the minds of the general population, and I don't think this performance came out above a C grade, maybe lower. The content, I'll reserve my comments until I have a better chance to have a read.

Stew21 · Jan 21, 2009

I wasn't impressed with reading it on paper anymore than I was with listening to it spoken, Rich. It was a mediocre piece which looked even more mediocre in the context of such a huge world event.

smoothseas · Jan 21, 2009

Stew21 said:
I wasn't impressed with reading it on paper anymore than I was with listening to it spoken, Rich. It was a mediocre piece which looked even more mediocre in the context of such a huge world event.

I agree. And like my goddaughter said, 'it's rather sophmoric.'

Perks · Jan 21, 2009

I really don't like poems where there are lines that just ring false. For the sake of whatever point the poet is trying to make, they say something that just turns my hands for me, palms up, and gooses a sneer out of me, "That's just not true."

For instance -

All about us is noise. All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din...

This bit is particularly irksome to me as it precedes what I think is the very best line of the whole thing -

each one of our ancestors on our tongues

If she'd been saying something else, I'd think that was just great. As it is, the poem reads very watery. I don't envy her position of being charged with wowing us yesterday, and I certainly don't envy the reviews she's reaping, but still I can't even pretend to have been impressed with that poem.

dclary · Jan 21, 2009

We talked about this poem last night during American Idol discussion hour (ok, my family has weird traditions, but whatever).

I hate it. As a poem, it doesn't do any of the things a good poem ought.

It's wordy, it's obtuse, it's unfocused, it doesn't evoke any emotions.

The sentiment I'm reading in this thread is the same impression I got: this was a poem written the night before by a college student who had a paper due in the morning.

I hope he doesn't make her US Poet Laureate. Unless she's written something better than that.

Stew21 · Jan 21, 2009

really the picking lettuce was very odd, wasn't it?

dclary · Jan 21, 2009

There are so many phrases in that poemish thing (it's more a bad essay than a poem), that simply don't work, or are just structurally atrocious, or don't make any sense.

I'd almost wished she'd simply said "I can't write something as inspiring as this event is to me," and stepped off the podium. Grace in defeat is far better than crap on a page.

A. Hamilton · Jan 21, 2009

I also noticed picking lettuce when she read it, seemed like she stuck that in there to get an ethnic connection-but it sure stuck out. much of the poem is like that, forced images to appeal to a variety. I think she was trying to paint a wide picture we could all relate to. But you're right, it does feel as though it was crammed and not revised and tightened enough. it kinda flails about widely instead of staying tight and focused.
I do admit tho, that reading it in form on the link that Kid provided, it is not as offensive as my first encounters with it.

III · Jan 21, 2009

I just kept thinking "Man, the poets on AW could have created something much better." And they should have had Morgan Freeman or James Earl Jones read it. It reminded me of an up-the-middle run when a pass would have been better and a flea-flicker would have won the game. But then again I'm fairly low-brow.

A. Hamilton · Jan 21, 2009

there are other poems of hers here, if anyone is curious.

Magdalen · Jan 21, 2009

I didn't hear her read it, but I was told it was uninspiring and way-too-drawn-out. Didn't think the poem was very good after I did read it.

poetinahat · Jan 21, 2009

I'm with the crowd here. On reading, I was disappointed. I have yet to see the recitation.

To me, it reads too much like she was trying to Write A Poem.

Hmmm... I have an idea for a contest. steeples fingers*

------
*: (c)2008 Shweta.

kdnxdr · Jan 21, 2009

In an interview, she did say that it was a "poem on demand" and she had never been in that situation. However, on poets.org, I read several reviews of her writing and she has quite a career as a writer.

Showing my ignorance but, who IS the National Poet Laureate at this time? I wonder if that would have been a better choice?

peg · Jan 22, 2009

I, too, was disappointed. What a shame. First I printed it out, then yesterday I listened to her reading it.

I, too, liked the "each one of our ancestors on our tongue". And this:

"Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices" (She should have stopped there and left out "they would then keep clean and work inside of". That "work inside of" jumped out at me. UGH) I'm fine with the lettuce; she's obviously delineating specific ethnic groups.

If the entire piece had been in the vein of that sentence - as it should have been - it would have been worthy of a presidential inauguration.

She did not do poetry any favors - she blew it badly, in my opinion.

peg

poetinahat · Jan 22, 2009

kdnxdr said:
Showing my ignorance but, who IS the National Poet Laureate at this time? I wonder if that would have been a better choice?

Is it still Simic?

And, since we're talking about it, if the Poet Laureate doesn't get THIS gig, what the hell's the point of the position?

ETA: I've now watched the inauguration. The poem did more than leave me cold; it made me angry for its being so flat and uninspiring. Plusungood.

Fortunately, the Invocation that followed was magnificent. "So the red man can get ahead, man" -- loved that whole bit.

And the inauguration speech itself stirred in a way that I thought the poem should have.

Woof · Jan 22, 2009

The poem was a great disappointment. The words were so uninspired, she may as well have been reading out a laundry list. Contrast Alexander's poem to the one recited at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy on January 20, 1961, by a real master, Robert Frost:

~ The Gift Outright ~

The land was ours before we were the land's.
She was our land more than a hundred years
Before we were her people. She was ours
In Massachusetts, in Virginia.
But we were England's, still colonials,
Possessing what we still were unpossessed by,
Possessed by what we now no more possessed.
Something we were withholding made us weak.
Until we found out that it was ourselves
We were withholding from our land of living,
And forthwith found salvation in surrender.
Such as we were we gave ourselves outright
(The deed of gift was many deeds of war)
To the land vaguely realizing westward,
But still unstoried, artless, unenhanced,
Such as she was, such as she would become.

ddgryphon · Jan 26, 2009

For those of you who haven't seen it--disaster that it is--you tube has it up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhSa8fJqac4

ddgryphon · Jan 26, 2009

I also believe she understands herself.

A. Hamilton · Jan 26, 2009

ddgryphon said:
I also believe she understands herself.

that was enlightening

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