First Lady Moment Of Zen

12:15 am EST May 13th, 2009 | Uncategorized | 18 Comments

They had some sort of poetry jam session at the White House. Not a fan of poetry. Am a fan of Michelle Obama.

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18 Responses to “First Lady Moment Of Zen”

  1. News Reference says:
    May 13, 2009 at 12:30 am

    Not a fan.

    But that’s the nicest photo I’ve ever seen of her.

  2. Malacandra says:
    May 13, 2009 at 1:58 am

    Wow. What a FLILF!

  3. jr says:
    May 13, 2009 at 2:00 am

    Lovely

  4. Joe Bourgeois says:
    May 13, 2009 at 2:02 am

    Oliver -
    Like many people who don’t like poetry, you were probably taught it badly and/or vindictively.
    Try reading the anthology “Poets Against the War” — full of great writing against George’s excellent adventure.

  5. Jay Tea says:
    May 13, 2009 at 8:08 am

    Forget the political crap poetry, Oliver. Force yourself to read William Blake’s “The Tiger,” then Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “Kubla Khan.”

    If that doesn’t do it, plow your way through Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl.”

    J.

  6. Quaker in a Basement says:
    May 13, 2009 at 11:16 am

    Wuf! Cue the Villagers to tut-tut about Michelle showing some shoulder.

  7. I'm a Hick says:
    May 13, 2009 at 11:22 am

    As the President said, she has the right to bare arms.

  8. Robert says:
    May 13, 2009 at 11:50 am

    Jay Tea,
    wow, you named two poems I liked enough to have memorized. Tyger and Kubla Khan, that is. Yeats’s The Second Coming is also good, and Ozymandias by Shelley (which is somewhat political, if you look at it right).
    Joe B., I think you’re right – if botany was taught the way poetry is, it would be nothing but tearing flowers apart to see how they _were_ made. Nothing left when you’re done but a pile of unlovely fragments.

  9. mike in dc says:
    May 13, 2009 at 12:57 pm

    The only think I don’t really care for about most poetry “jams” and “slams” is that everybody has now adopted the same basic delivery style. It was compelling the first 600 times I heard it, but come on guys, try something different now.

  10. Kelly in Indy says:
    May 13, 2009 at 3:01 pm

    Mike in DC – you are right, I was enthralled at first with the def poetry jam on HBO, but after a while, they all started to sound exactly the same and it got tres boring.

    That is the most lovely picture of Ms. Obama I think I’ve ever seen, she is b-e-a-utiful!

  11. Repack Rider says:
    May 13, 2009 at 5:04 pm

    JT,

    I to can recite both of those poems.

    Too bad Coleridge had to answer the door, as the legend goes.

    Add Poe’s The Bells to the list.

  12. Jay Tea says:
    May 13, 2009 at 5:17 pm

    I’ll pass on “The Bells,” Repack. Way, way too much repetition.

    But I’ve written parodies of both “Kubla Khan” and “The Tyger.” That’s when you know how good a poem is — when you have to read it over and over and over again to match rhyme and meter, line for line.

    The Blake parody was considerably better — I managed to keep the theme going all the way through. Coleridge, I kinda meandered around.

    Ginsberg, I wouldn’t touch. Way, way too complicated. Besides, I don’t wanna get haunted by the ghost of Carl Solomon…

    J.

  13. Grumpymann says:
    May 13, 2009 at 5:32 pm

    I’ve penned a few missives. And I must admit I enjoy the process of creating more than reading them.

    In High School I was given some advice about poetry by a science teacher (Of all things), he told me poetry is like music.

    “You won’t like em all. But if you look around enough and try enough you’ll find not only one you like but maybe a bunch you love.”

  14. First Lady Michelle Obama’s Poetry Slam… I mean “Jam” | Barack Obama News Blog says:
    May 13, 2009 at 6:33 pm

    [...] I saw this photo of First Lady Michelle Obama over at Oliver Willis. [...]

  15. News Reference says:
    May 13, 2009 at 8:33 pm

    A Poetry Discussion
    In the Oddest Place.

    Titillating Fun
    From a Sultry Face.

    Bare Shoulder Glistens
    Showing Strength and Grace.

    A Cocked Head Listens
    Like Heaven’s Lace.

  16. Jesse Ewiak says:
    May 13, 2009 at 9:08 pm

    Will I get a visit from the Secret Service if I say I’d hit that?

  17. Lonya says:
    May 14, 2009 at 12:15 am

    I’d start with the Last Poets (who opened my eyes more than 30 years ago) and who imo created what became rap . . . and work back in time.

    My favorite though is a Russian, the glorious Anna Akhmatova.
    This is from her Requiem

    Silent flows the river Don
    A yellow moon looks quietly on
    Swanking about, with cap askew
    It sees through the window a shadow of you
    Gravely ill, all alone
    The moon sees a woman lying at home
    Her son is in jail, her husband is dead
    Say a prayer for her instead.

  18. Obama Social Network » First Lady Michelle Obama’s Poetry Slam… I mean “Jam” says:
    May 14, 2009 at 9:02 am

    [...] I saw this photo of First Lady Michelle Obama over at Oliver Willis. [...]