On January 21st, poet Richard Blanco will join the likes of Robert Frost and Maya Angelou, taking a national stage to recite what will be the country’s fifth inaugural poem. President John F. Kennedy began the tradition, commissioning Frost’s "The Gift Outright" for his 1961 swearing in. Since then, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have decided to place poetry front and center on the inaugural dais.
At The Takeaway, we think poetry was built for the digital age — and this inauguration could use a People’s Poem. So we invited noted poet Kwame Dawes to start us off with a first line — and we want you to be our co-authors! It’s a grand experiment — and here’s how you can make your voice heard:
Noted poet Kwame Dawes (@kwamedawes) has given us his first line:
Say “nation.” In the wake of quarrels, say “hope”
Tweet us back (we're @thetakeaway) with the line you’d write next. Always tweet with the hashtag #prezpoem — that way we’ll know what you’ve written — and so will everyone else.
Keep an eye on that #prezpoem hashtag – that way, you can use others’ tweets as your inspiration. If you want your line to be paired with someone else’s, just include their twitter handle in your tweet.
Later in the week, Kwame Dawes will join us to talk about his favorite lines. We’ll curate our own favorite contributions to make a listener-supported People's Poem.
Finally, a big thanks to our affiliate, WLRN. Their experiment with Junot Diaz during the Miami Book Fair International in November inspired us.
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The show is a co-production of WNYC Radio and Public Radio International, in collaboration with New York Times Radio and WGBH Boston.
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Comments [35]
Say "Good morning."
We begin again.
#prezpoem, In the throes of the election, the dirt on a semi trailer door says, "Viva Obama." That is hope.
Say nation for amber waves of consciousness, take root for peace to sow, give voice to dreams America , say hope in trust we grow
Say vision. Say awake. Awake to the goodness of our work. Awake in our gentleness. Awake to our breath to make of ourselves a light.
Say, Now is the season,
Say Peace,
Say Prosperity,
Say compromise with reason.
I listen, in the despair of my separation, to the excitement of building a poem for the upcoming inauguration. Thousands upon thousands of us - intelligent, passionate and loyal listeners, roiling in the morass of imposed poverty - left out, once again, because we cannot afford a smartphone with internet access. How can this vaunted paean from "the people" be authentic, when only one million of the 311,591,917 Americans have access to Twitter? There is no joy in Twitterville, when we, the unemployed, the impoverished - we mighty 47% - have been struck out? Because I have no access to the single method you demand, am I less an American? Does my heart beat less proudly with patriotic pride? Enduring the anguish that even NPR - the peoples' only hope for free and unbiased information - now imposes, my spirit is crushed because I thought NPR was the antithesis of elitism; now I know it is not.
What aaaaakwame read today is exquiste and powerful. I hope you will place the words he said on the website. They echo a prayer I just placed on the National Cathedral's national prayer from the people for the Tuesday, January 22 Prayer Service for our country.
Say Light, in the wake of darkness, may it always prevail.
Say Hope, in the midst of fear, may it always find its way.
Say Grace, may it always fall upon our path, wherever it may lead...
#prezpoem
Say nation, obey our decrees and commands and lets hope our children follow and obey even better..
Say 'Reach'
Breath deep the spirits of those who walked before
Breath out the wisdoms of our ancient memories
And guided by our chants
We cross the great divide
To join in vibrant symphony
Say "community" meaning love and spirt abound to gather together.
Cry, be happy,fall, and rise together as one, as a community.
We are a community and we work together.
We are a machine, if one cog stops working, we all stop working.
We need stop, mend the kink, and we start working again.
Think of us as one. We rise and fall together.
We shed tears of happiness and tears of sadness together because a friends loss is our loss.
Think of everyone as an equal.
The people with small voices should be heard and be counted just as equally.
Be "brave". In the face of danger, say "courage".
Say "united". In our country, we are "united".
Say "freedom". When people hurt, say "help".
Say "dream" and remember the people who got us to where we are. Say " destiny"
Say "future." In this ugly time of war and violence, say "humanity"
Say "Freedom" in the face of slavery. Say "Justice" In the name of America.
Say "Love" in the hope of kindness everlasting. Say "Liberty" In the name of Glory.
Say "Together" in our fight for libery. Say "Friendship" in the face of anger.
Say "Courage" in the face of cowardice. Say "Unite" in the hope of a true U.S.A.
Say "love" for we cannot prosper without it.
Say "human" for while we have our differences we are all equal in worth.
Say "future" and imagine your children living in it.
say love in the life say freedom
say life on the day of death say sleep
Say "expression." In a time of art culture, say "beauty"
Say "hope" and pray for good things to come.Say "strength" and know the power of your nation.
Say "Thanks" to the people who give you the extra push you need, that work hard everyday, to the people who make a difference by doing the simplest things.
hi
Say "Imagine" what we as Americans could become with a little guidance.
As we approach this magnanimous occasion our country can florish in this new era. Say "freedom." Say "peace."
When faced with bitter adversity, say "unite".
Say "hope." In the age of new ideas and beliefs, say "acceptance"
Say "friendship" for we have lost so many friends and gained so many enemies. Say "hope".
Say, lets enjoy our lives to the fullest extent, say let Good make miracles continentaly ..
Ps: yesterday it was mentioned about the logo of Procter & Gamble, it was a crescent moon with a human face, it had 13 snakes like Medusa in the back of moon and in the front of the face 13 stars,..Procter& Gamble made a pact to become successful in return for his portrait.
The artist had to copy the reflection off a mirror for he couldn't see Satans face directly..
Say "Unite" In the face of our common adversaries, Say "Forward", to those who will be our detractors.
Make the markets progressive, and send the guilty bankers to prison. Hear our liberty's death rattle till we do.
@TheTakeaway Say, "Surrender a little," to preserve the nation say, "compromise;" the best of you with the best of me.#prezpoem
Sorry. I don't twit ...
We give so little of ourselves, yet we take so much for granted. Say hope.
#prezpoem Hope is built on compromise and gives a spiritual high
#prezpoem Hope is built on compromise and gives a spiritual high
Hope is built on compromise and gives a spiritual high.
Join hands in spirit with your neighbors, fellow Americans,
Over the fences that divide us, say "Nation", say "Hope".
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