Compare and Contrast
"Maya Angelou Honored For Courage, Blackness," The Onion, Oct. 29, 1997:
Reading like a veritable who's-who of the nation's political, literary, academic and daytime-television elite, the event's star-studded guest list included such notables as Susan Sarandon, Henry Louis Gates, Fiona Apple, Oprah Winfrey and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, who described Angelou in her keynote address as "courageous and black."
"Maya Angelou is not merely a courageous literary figure, she is also an extremely black person, with an overall skin tone far darker in hue than that of a person of European descent," Clinton said. She went on to note that Angelou, author of such mediocre works as I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, And Still I Rise, and On The Pulse Of The Morning, President Clinton's 1992 inaugural poem, has been "black since birth."
"Richard Blanco, Symbol of Diversity, Selected As Obama’s Inaugural Poet," Time, January 9, 2013:
The 44-year-old poet, born of Cuban parents, took the name of a Republican leader who railed against Fidel Castro. Now he’s been chosen as the inaugural poet for a Democratic President’s second swearing-in.
Blanco is a wellspring of demographics: he’s an under-50 gay Hispanic born in Spain, later raised in Miami and now living with his partner in a rural Maine town at the foot of the White Mountains. He’s also a civil engineer, teacher and award-winning poet who waxes often of home and family. “Richard Blanco is a good choice,” says English Professor Grace Bauer, who specializes in contemporary poetry at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
I'm not familiar with Blanco. Perhaps he's a great poet. And I find the Cuban civil engineer thing fascinating. But less identity politics and more focus on the product might be in order. If we want to avoid life imitating a parody news site, that is.
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May '11
Re: Compare and Contrast
Amazing, you just can't make this stuff up!
Jan '12
Re: Compare and Contrast
Amazing. Hilarious. Awesome. Keep it up, Mrs. Hemingway!
Nov '11
Re: Compare and Contrast
Wonderful parallels.
Of course one suspects that the problem has existed from time immemorial. In any case it seems like a million years ago that Art Buchwald complained that it was becoming more and more difficult to write satire, but it was probably only the 70's. His attempt to illustrate the problem at that time was his attempt at a fictional extreme headline, which ran something like this: "Sister Mary and Father Joseph to Marry: This Time will it Be for Keeps?"
Oct '11
Re: Compare and Contrast
My sympathies go out to the satirists of the day, they have to work ever harder to exceed the expanding standard of the absurd set by the reality of modern culture
Aug '11
Re: Compare and Contrast
Can someone remind me why we need an "inaugural poet" anyway?
Jan '11
Re: Compare and Contrast
Just while we're thinking of it ... Why do we have a poet for the inauguration?
JFK and Robert Frost; OK, but a different era. Now, what would be appropriate for these days? How about a warm-up comedian? Eddie Murphy-style in Raw? And to completely update the Inauguration Ritual to fit modern times, we'll have a reality show documenting the behind-the-scenes divas battling each other, in which the participants film interviews giving their side of the story - like The Office or Dance Moms.
Then a panel of celebrity judges to advise the politicians that they're being pitchy and that they need to "make it their own."
Jan '12
Re: Compare and Contrast
"I didn't come here to make friends..." Excellent, KC.
Jun '10
Re: Compare and Contrast
Let's see:
I'm old (he needs that demographic), nearly bald, a cancer-survivor (very early stage, but under Obamacare I'm at much higher risk), and a Mormon (think of the symbolism).
And, while I have never actually written any verse, I can recite several poems that begin "there once was a girl from . . . ."
I should be a leading poetry candidate for his third inaugural.
[Please don't mention the fact that I'm straight and conservative].
Sep '10
Re: Compare and Contrast
A gay hispanic engineer of Cuban descent? Big whoop. Can't we get something more exotic? Like a transexual Muslim computer programmer of Azerbaijanean descent!
Feb '12
Re: Compare and Contrast
I imagine the poet wearing laurels and strumming a liar. (not misspelled)
Jun '10
Re: Compare and Contrast
The country needs some vapid verse shoved down its throat every four years.
Jul '11
Re: Compare and Contrast
Straight white religious males need not apply.
Barry,"So Meesh honey, who did you get for my poemy poem".
Meesh,"Put out that Marlboro you little pissant. I got gay Hispanic engineer in Maine".
Barry," That's incense pumpkin cheeks. How old is she?"
Meesh,"I'm not the press so quit lying and expect me to believe it you little scrawny turd. The poet is a gay man. We looked for a transgender of Maori descent but apparently none know any poems beyond the Haka".
May '11
Re: Compare and Contrast
tabula rasa: Let's see:
I'm old (he needs that demographic), nearly bald, a cancer-survivor (very early stage, but under Obamacare I'm at much higher risk), and a Mormon (think of the symbolism).
And, while I have never actually written any verse, I can recite several poems that begin "there once was a girl from . . . ."
I should be a leading poetry candidate for his third inaugural.
[Please don't mention the fact that I'm straight and conservative]. · 1 hour ago
Tabula, we could write a poem together. I'll start with the first stanza. Here I sit broken hearted. Or do you like? I knew a man from Mantucket. I think with either of those two opening stanzas we could write a killer inaugural poem.
Feb '11
Re: Compare and Contrast
"But less identity politics and more focus on the product might be in order."
Remember this is Obama's inauguration. Identity politics is a major part of the product
Jun '10
Re: Compare and Contrast
thelonious
tabula rasa: Let's see:
I'm old (he needs that demographic), nearly bald, a cancer-survivor (very early stage, but under Obamacare I'm at much higher risk), and a Mormon (think of the symbolism).
And, while I have never actually written any verse, I can recite several poems that begin "there once was a girl from . . . ."
I should be a leading poetry candidate for his third inaugural.
[Please don't mention the fact that I'm straight and conservative]. · 1 hour ago
Tabula, we could write a poem together. I'll start with the first stanza. Here I sit broken hearted. Or do you like? I knew a man from Mantucket. I think with either of those two opening stanzas we could write a killer inaugural poem. · 17 minutes ago
I'm in. Do they send us a check before we start?
Dec '10
Re: Compare and Contrast
Oh, I just read the atrocity (A Rock, A River, A Tree) which was Angelou's offering at the Clinton inaugural (War is bad, pollution is bad, slavery is bad. Got it. And good morning to you too!).
I'm inspired to offer my idea for a Ricochet post, but can't do it myself as I'm on my phone. Ricochet Inaugural Poem Writing Challenge. It has to be no longer than Angelou's (I just don't have the stomach for more) and at least as good (that shouldn't be too difficult -- bonus points for rhyming).
Edited on January 10, 2013 at 9:17pmMay '11
Re: Compare and Contrast
tabula rasa
thelonious
tabula rasa: Let's see:
I'm old (he needs that demographic), nearly bald, a cancer-survivor (very early stage, but under Obamacare I'm at much higher risk), and a Mormon (think of the symbolism).
And, while I have never actually written any verse, I can recite several poems that begin "there once was a girl from . . . ."
I should be a leading poetry candidate for his third inaugural.
[Please don't mention the fact that I'm straight and conservative]. · 1 hour ago
Tabula, we could write a poem together. I'll start with the first stanza. Here I sit broken hearted. Or do you like? I knew a man from Mantucket. I think with either of those two opening stanzas we could write a killer inaugural poem. · 17 minutes ago
I'm in. Do they send us a check before we start? · 16 minutes ago
I'm sure we could get a grant from the NEA for this future masterpiece. That's the only way poets get paid now isn't it?
Oct '10
Re: Compare and Contrast
I swear, sometimes I think our elites view America as a zoo. It's like a safari for them: ethnic blacks, Hispanics, bohemians, gays, anything that tickles their fancy for the exotic.
That's not a good attitude to have among society's elites. It means they prefer "authentic" ethnic culture, even to the point of embracing self-destructive cultural norms among some subgroups of Americans. After all, blacks aren't Americans like them, the elites; they're just animals in the great American zoo.
Sep '12
Re: Compare and Contrast
The upside of incredibly debased politics is that we can get some rather wonderful fun out of it!
Oct '12
Re: Compare and Contrast
So there once was a Prez from . . . oh wait. . .
Chose a Poet to fête us, (not straight.)
"But who cares?" Question put.
"There'll be worse things afoot
Than a poet I'm 'fraid, on that date."
[Side note: In checking proper capitalization for limericks I came across a delightful website and the winning limerick for November. Here it is, followed by the website in case you are interested.]
"I believe in one person, one vote,"
The democratist snarled, "but please note,
Though our system, it seems,
Beats all other regimes,
We, the sheep, just elected a goat."
By Stephen Gold
Click here for the link: