Ok, so we all know that Alexander's presentation of her poem was not exactly up to par. Even though it is her job to be a poet, and she should know how to read a poem, I couldn't help feeling the slightest bit of sympathy for her.
So this is what was given to her:
Write a poem for the first African American's inaugural address (that's stressful let alone)
Finish it in time
Read it in an interesting way
Make it stupid enough so the American public (not so bright) can understand it
Also make it so it will be remembered throughout history, and deep enough to strike literary scholars.
Sounds tuff huh! I feel like she was jipped into a lose lose situation. If she made it so the whole public could understand it, then the literary world would do nothing but criticize her. If she made it so deep and complex to amaze the literary world, the American public would stare at her with a glossy stare. This is why I feel like a poem is not so appropriate for this event and I can understand why it has only been done a couple times before in history.
So even though I'm not a very big fan of Alexander, I couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy for her. I think for the situation she was put in, she did a pretty okay job at finding the middle ground between the two worlds.
2 comments:
I don't think I could agree that a poem is not appropriate for this type of event. I kind of like the poetry reading portion. It gives the otherwise dry ceremony a burst of inspiration. But I must concur that Alexander had it rough with the demand and difficulty of the task upon her.
I agree, I think she was put in a very tough situation; however, she should have read it better. I mean I am sure she practiced it in front of friends of family. You would think someone would have told her to speed it up. I do feel really sorry for her though.
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