Friday, December 19, 2008

Inaugural Poet, Elizabeth Alexander


So, it’s official—Elizabeth Alexander will deliver the inaugural poem on January 20th.

I met Elizabeth Alexander through hours of uninterrupted reading as a student at Howard University. I admire this women for her poetic powers, the way she bends images gracefully. The way she takes the sting out of innuendo yet let it hang. I’d like to recommend Elizabeth Alexander to all of you, in case you haven’t heard of her.

Alexander has an amazing range. She does, however, write mostly issues surrounding the female body, gender, history, and race.

Here’s a taste. Click here to read the entire poem. I'd love to hear what you all think.
Autumn Passage

On suffering, which is real.
On the mouth that never closes,
the air that dries the mouth.

1 comment:

Serena said...

I heard about Obama selecting an inaugural poet. I was amazed.