Poet for President
I wish all the billboards across the country read: “Give back the votes your brother stole” and the poets would shout from every street corner, “The emperor wears no clothes” … ~ Colleen
So my poet friend Mara, a Hillary Clinton supporter, knew she might change her mind and vote for Barack Obama in the Virginia primary when a Roanoke council member, speaking on Hillary’s behalf at the Roanoke rally Hillary had to cancel at the last minute, stood on the venue platform and said this: “We aren’t electing a poet, we’re electing a president.”
Mara gasped.
The next day she called me to tell me that not only was she was seriously considering supporting Barack but that he had won a Grammy for best Spoken Word recording. I thought she was joking because I had watched the Grammys and had not seen any such thing.
I googled some keywords and pulled up an article titled: Obama wins big in California. Knowing Hillary had won the California primary, I dug a little deeper and discovered that, indeed, Obama had won a Grammy for his audio recording of his book, “The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream.”
The audacity and the irony: Over the weekend Barack prevailed over Hillary in a sweep of primary wins, and then won a Grammy, beating Bill Clinton who was also up for the award for his own audio book recording.
Maybe we should read some excerpts from Barack’s book at our Spoken Word Open Mic this Saturday at the Café Del Sol.
February 11th, 2008 11:09 pm
Yes, do read some of Obama’s book at the reading! Sounds good to me. What a terrible thing for a Hillary supporter to say, huh?
Anyway, come on over to Bonnie’s Books (http://bonniesbooks.blogspot.com/2008/02/awards-ceremony-dress-appropriately.html). Dress up because I’m having an awards ceremony complete with gala. And do bring along your acceptance speech, though the producers are asking that each person receiving an award please limit your speech to five minutes … save your longer comments for your own blog, when you pass along the award(s).
February 12th, 2008 6:22 am
I must say, it’s not looking good for Hillary these days. She may have the know-how and the drive, but it seems people are looking for a fresh way to look at things. They’re looking for a poet…to make us into something wondrous and beautiful again.
February 12th, 2008 7:00 am
A true poet wouldn’t stand a chance in this country. Sadly, we’re all about being hard, tough, strong and making money. There isn’t much room for smelling daisies in a society with today’s “values” of getting every dime you can and “morals” that say ME FIRST. Who has time for other people, poems, sunshine, daffodils, trees and Mother Earth? That stuff is for sissies … not.
February 12th, 2008 9:34 am
for me the time to change my support would be in november when it will be time for me to support the nominee, no matter who it is, in order to have some sanity in the white house again!
i say Go0o0o0o0 HILLARYYYYYYYYYYY!
February 12th, 2008 10:28 am
I think it’s just going to get uglier and uglier in all the election races…mud slinging, accusations, counter accusations. Our state is heating up in some of their races too…
February 12th, 2008 3:01 pm
Oh do read his book…if it were not for that book I would never have looked at him twice for president…but I learned what kind of a man he was from his writing…and I’m impressed!
February 12th, 2008 3:35 pm
I’ve heard that his first book, a memoir called “Dreams From My Father,” is even better.
February 12th, 2008 7:35 pm
Wow, I knew he had elocution but that award is an interesting tidbit.
February 12th, 2008 8:50 pm
he’s not it -maybe with the right wheels behind him..
February 13th, 2008 10:26 am
In part because my daughter threatened me with her hot pink “Hillary Rocks” button, I DID cast my vote yesterday for Hillary. I think, however, that I may have been secretly hoping for Barack to win. I will have no problem getting behind either one of them once the nomination is settled, and how exhilarating it was to have a CHOICE! I have been voting for 18 years, and this is the first time I’ve ever been undecided–and undecided over two candidates I really believe in. That in itself shows a dramatic shift in politics–the people are getting involved again. Demanding change. And no–Barack is not really a poet–he writes prose, so far as I’ve seen. But isn’t the president mostly an icon? And wouldn’t it be fabulous to have a brilliant well-spoken icon representing us to the rest of the world? I’m not saying that the president has no power, but it’s less than you’d expect.
I did not vote for Hillary simply because she is a woman, but it was pretty amazing to stand in the voting booth with my ten-year-old daughter and choose a woman as a presidential candidate for the first time. Hillary–Barack–either will make history that has needed to be made for a long time and I am glad it is being made in my lifetime.
February 13th, 2008 10:49 am
Thanks for the update, Mara. I was wondering. I think there is a rhythm to Barack’s spoken word that is poetic or musical to the ear.
Jimmy Carter does write poetry.
February 13th, 2008 11:13 am
Some people who write who may NOT be “poets” write in a very poetic manner…Perhaps that is not accurate if one is a poet, but…using the word poetry to describe what someone’s writing makes me feel and think, I feel some prose writers ARE Poets!
I do find the Clinton Machine a bit scary. Two things that all this makes me think of: The film PRIMARY COLORS, and I cannot get past the fact that Hillery voted FOR the War. I had much less information than Hillery and I told my sister two days after Colin Powell’s speech to the U.N. that I didn’t know when, but I KNEW We would find out that all of that stuff was untrue; that it was crap. Now, if I knew that, why didn’t she? And I don’t like that she has never said, “I MADE A MISTAKE…I WAS WRONG”. Going back to the first thing: The amount of ambition that the Clintons have kind of scares me.
Personally I am ready for something entirely new and different in Washington. No more Bushies and no more Clintons. We need to start a new Dynasty.
February 13th, 2008 8:44 pm
I see that Obama took your state! Bravo! I’m sure your vote counted well.
I had heard he won a Grammy for his book. Only read the book….didn’t hear the audio version, but bet it’s good.
February 13th, 2008 8:46 pm
PS….you’re not going to believe this…but somehow your email address has disappeared ONCE again from my list! Do you have Gremlins around you? lol
Anyway…could you please email me, because I need to email you..does that make sense? I’m tired……lol And shutting down, so when I get your address, I’ll email you tomorrow….Nighty, Night.
February 13th, 2008 11:45 pm
Even here in Canada, your political scene is very big news. How very ironic and interesting about the Grammy.
February 14th, 2008 4:14 pm
Hey Country Dew,
You probably don’t know any kick-ass poets just the droopy pastoral types. Too bad. But as a poet I’m not a pasture, daisy people-loving sort and don’t want to be.
February 14th, 2008 5:32 pm
I think dew was being sarcastic. She’s a poet too!