(By the way, I see no “creative necessity” to stop this listing of scenes from everyday life at that particular point. It could have continued for pages and pages: a girl is smoking in the doorway; a mother is peeling potatoes; the guy upstairs is moving furniture, etc.)

And here is my problem with the poem. The idea could have been presented beautifully. But was it? The author calls Ms. Alexander’s creation “verse”, but could somebody PLEASE show me where the versification is? I am an immigrant who studied the versification styles of Shakespeare, Byron, Burns, Shelly and many others, but all I can see in Ms. Alexander’s work is lack of skill.

If she is teaching style and poetry at Yale, I am scared for Yale.

P.S. “When brown can stick around … etc.” – has nothing to do with poetry, imagery or style. It is simply primitive and vulgar, worse than “call 1-800-get-a-wife, we’ll keep you happy all your life.”

Could someone explain?

1) they have the benefit/misfortune of not having been selected as the Inaugural poet for Barack Obama
2) they do not have to deliver it to 1,000s upon 1,000s of people who do not even read poetry, let alone understand what constitutes a good poem
3) they do not have to deliver it to people living in a time where reading is no longer our greatest pasttime because of our dwindling attention spans
4) they have examples, however few, of what an inaugural poem has been, is and should be because it has been attempted by a few poets prior.
5) they do not have 2 months or less (November 4, 2008 and January 20, 2009) to create, revise and revise some more, and examine the nuances, consider the approach, consider the delivery, etc.

Let’s attempt to write an Inaugural poem about this enormous time in our history. I’ll do the same. Then come back and post comments about your poem’s efficacy. I’m sure many poems will be and have been written about this time, but none under the pressure and the large critical body that is America.

Klotz, I (personally) appreciate your interest to consider the makings of this poem, the effective lines, stanzas, images and the forum. I’ve also read your explication of “Praise Song for the Day.” Pretty darn extensive and even objective at times. This dialogue is great

Kudos!

It is not impossible to write a poem that is generally reconized as good and lives up to the moment, even on a day like that one. I couldn’t help feeling as if she believed it was impossible to do so, so she didn’t even try.

I’m not a poet and don’t know much about good or bad poetry either. I personally liked the rhythm and pacing of her reading. While her words were mundane, for me it was in the silences between the words that the poem had meaning. Much like the last comment, we each filled in our own stories. I think it was the silences, the negative space, that made the poem feel long to some. For me, they added to the richness.

Carla (my blog, which is only a day old, is speakingpresence.wordpress.com)
http://www.riverways.com

I think that you make many good observations about Alexander’s poem, and its weaknesses.

I have not looked at it as text, but I was (personally) taken by it, and enjoyed it, and found that I could listen to it again at YouTube without pain.

I recognize that she is a minor poet, and is not going to rock our socks off with an Eliot-like or Frost-like poem for the ages, but I thought it excelled the Warren prayer offered, and fit the occasion.

I agree with you that Obama is a hard act to follow—and that Obama’s speeches have poetic elements that are, in places, more poetic than the poet’s.

You compare Alexander’s poem unfavorably to Maya Angelou’s. I haven’t gone back to look at Angelou’s, but your observation may prompt me to do so.

As for the “green theme” that you use for you blog, I wanted to use it but couldn’t figure out how to put the “about” page in the side margin (like yours is).

If it’s not complicated, could you tell me how you did that?

—Santi (my blog is Prometheus Unbound)