Inaugural Poets

Richard Blanco, Inaugural Poet for Obama’s second swearing in ceremony, grew up in South Florida. So he was written up in the Sun Sentinal along with the publication of his poem. I enjoyed reading his poem and became curious about which Presidents chose inaugural poets and why.

My earliest memory of a Presidential Inauguration was John F. Kennedy’s. On a cold January morning in 1961, Robert Frost stood in the brilliant sun, his white head of hair bare to the wind. He could not see to read the poem he had written as a preface to “The Gift Outright” a poem that JFK requested. So he just recited his well-known poem.

Skip ahead to Jimmy Carter in 1977. James Dickey read a poem but only at a gala after Carter’s inauguration. It wasn’t until 1993 when President Clinton asked Maya Angelou to read a poem at his swearing in that we had a second inaugural poet. Another Arkansas poet, Miller Williams, read at Clinton’s second Inauguration. Both were original poems written for the occasions.

Elizabeth Alexander was commissioned to write a poem for Obama’s first Inauguration in 2009. So this year, Richard Blanco is only the 5th Inaugural Poet in our country’s history. He worked on three poems from which the White House selected “One Today.” This poem celebrates common experiences of citizens of our nation as well as some of his personal history as a gay Hispanic man in America.

None of this background information answers the question: “Why do some Presidents choose inaugural poets?” So we are left to speculate. Obviously, all of these Presidents are Democrats during the last five decades or so. Kennedy wanted to bring more culture to the White House. Clinton emphasized poets from his home state. Obama looked to diversity in his recent choice of a poet.

Here’s my thought. Elections always emphasize bi-partisan differences. They may become rancorous and hurtful in the final battle days. The poems that have been written for and read at inaugurations celebrate unity and hope. Their words tell us what makes our diverse people strong is our shared experiences: “One sun rose on us today…one light waking up rooftops.” These are words from the beginning of Blanco’s poem which celebrates our commonalities. Blanco ends with the following: ”We head home…all of us…/Facing the stars/Hope—a new constellation/Waiting for us to map it,/Waiting for us to name it—together.”

So maybe it’s a stretch to find a common theme of why Presidents select inaugural poets, but I feel quite confident that Hillary will continue the tradition in 2017.