Congrats to De’John Hardges!

Congrats to Cleveland's De’John Hardges!

 De’John Hardges, 16, was one of five teen poets selected by a White House committee to the 2015 class of the National Student Poets Program.

left: De’John Hardges; right: Michelle Obama.  First Lady Michelle Obama hosts a poetry reading in honor of the 2015 National Student Poets in the Blue Room of the White House, October 8, 2015. (Photo by Patrick G. Ryan for the National Student Poets Program.)

Check out the news:

• http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/white-house-committee-names-five-teen-poets-for-prestigious-national-student-poets-program-300157066.html
• http://www.wkyc.com/story/news/local/cleveland/2015/10/09/cleveland-teen-receives-prestigious-poetry-honor/73663246 
• http://wavy.com/ap/first-lady-honors-new-class-of-student-poets-for-bravery 
• https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/10/08/remarks-first-lady-national-student-poets-ceremony

Or watch him on YouTube


The National Student Poets Program selects five young writers who show great promise, and invests in the talent of these students through mentorships and workshops on writing and leadership. Each poet is tasked to serve as a literary ambassador with the mission to engage diverse audiences of all ages in the art of poetry by sharing their work, attending events, hosting workshops and leading service projects within their communities. The National Student Poets will next travel to New York City to attend the renowned Poets Forum, presented by the Academy of American Poets.

Richard Blanco, Inaugural poet

Immigrant poet Richard Blanco was named to be the inaugural poet for President Obama's second inauguration.
Gay, Latino--and an engineer, to boot--he's the youngest poet yet selected for an inauguration.

Addie Whisenant, the inaugural committee’s spokeswoman, said Mr. Obama picked Mr. Blanco because the poet’s “deeply personal poems are rooted in the idea of what it means to be an American.”

Check in on what he's doing, or just check him out, on his Facebook page.

• Poetry by Richard Blanco
• bio

Michelle Obama talks poetry!

Michelle Obama talks poetry: "Poetry helps us connect."

The Poetry of a Political Speech

Why is a good speech like a poem? John Lundberg, a writing and teaching fellow at Stanford University makes a great analysis in this essay on Barack Obama's acceptance speech.

The Poetry of Political Speech. He cites the rhythm of language and one of my favorite books, Mary Oliver's The Poetry Handbook. In that book (which as a lyrical poet, I LOVE to cite) she builds the argument that free verse evolved out of rhythm, rhyme and other classic conventions and without knowledge of the rhythm of language, a poet cannot successfully compose free verse.


Lundberg then notes the poetical use of refrain, of the ability to build momentum in Obama's speech.


But Lundberg also writes that he'd listened to Obama's acceptance speech and heard him quote the Bible, but no poets. The fact is, Obama referenced Langston Hughes, but he did it without saying his name -- just as he spoke of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. without naming him. In so doing, Lundberg missed the most poetical part of the speech -- the subtle ability to say without saying.