"The power of poetry is that everybody experiences it differently," said a relaxed President Barack Obama in his opening remarks for a poetry event hosted last night at the White House. "There are no rules for what makes a great poem. Understanding it isn’t just about metaphor or meter. Instead, a great poem is one that resonates with us, that challenges us and that teaches us something about ourselves and the world that we live in."
The night was hosted by the President’s Committee for the Arts and Humanities, chaired by his wife Michelle, and gathered a group of distinguished wordsmiths, including Billy Collins, Kenny Goldsmith, Alison Knowles, and songwriter Aimee Mann. UVA professor and former U.S. Poet Laureate kicked off the event with a couple of poems. (Read more about Dove here.)
The event drew fire from Sarah Palin, among others, because the rapper Common also attended. Said the novelist Bill O’Reilly of the rapper, "This guy has sympathized with convicted cop killers. He also does the usual rap stuff, touting guns and other anti-social behavior. In addition, he is a friend of Reverend Jeremiah Wright."
In his opening remarks, Obama noted that he published some of his own poetry in a college literary journal, but declined to read them. Unlucky for him, the New York Times dug them up. Among them:
"Underground," by Barack Obama
Under water grottos, caverns
Filled with apes
That eat figs.
Stepping on the figs
That the apes
Eat, they crunch.
The apes howl, bare
Their fangs, dance,
Tumble in the
Rushing water,
Musty, wet pelts
Glistening in the blue.
What say you stick to being leader of the free world, Barack?
