Elizabeth Alexander

"My Memory Curves Like a Watermelon Rind"

Christian Nwachukwu, Jr. | Posted 07.23.2009 | Living


Christian Nwachukwu, Jr.

The young students were washed in that end of year glow where everything is bright, and each day is a gift as life closes in on the season that makes everyone free: summer.

Follow the Artists to Our New Democracy

Tanene Allison | Posted 05.01.2009 | Politics


Tanene Allison

It was a poet who gave our nation, and new President, the words that led to our visioning of how this time of potential and possibility could become real.

HuffPost Readers, Hit It Home: Submit To Us A Poem That Inspires You During Hard Times

Verena von Pfetten | Posted 04.17.2009 | Living


Verena von Pfetten

We spend a lot of time on the Living page focusing on all the different ways we can work on improving and bringing more meaning to our lives. And one ...

Reflections on "The Poem"

Ben Rosen | Posted 02.25.2009 | Living


Ben Rosen

Let's compare Elizabeth Alexander's poem with one written for an earlier president. I dug up the 77-line poem, "Dedication", that Robert Frost wrote for JFK's 1961 inauguration.

A Closer Look At The Inaugural Poem

John Lundberg | Posted 02.25.2009 | Living


John Lundberg

I hope that, like me, you enjoyed Elizabeth Alexander's reading of her poem "Praise Song for the Day." I've gone back to read it again since the inau...

Two Parades. Two Coasts. One Hope.

Karen Bass | Posted 02.20.2009 | Politics


Karen Bass

Just as Martin Luther King's dream could not have endured if it was his alone, President Obama's hope and promise can't endure if we don't help shoulder the burden.

Take Me to the Intersection of Poetry and Journalism

Jane Dwyre Garton | Posted 02.17.2009 | Chicago


Jane Dwyre Garton

Journalists today are often stressed rather than inspired. Bring on the poetry. Bring on new voices. Tell us something that matters with words that tell us about the world, about the human condition.

Inaugural Poet Previews Obama Work

NY Times | Posted 01.25.2009 | Politics


"To have great poetry there must be great audiences, too," Walt Whitman said. He was talking about the quality of a poet's readers. But there is littl...

Elizabeth Alexander: Obama's Pick For Inaugural Poet

John Lundberg | Posted 01.21.2009 | Living


John Lundberg

Barack Obama has chosen Elizabeth Alexander to read a poem at his inauguration. A well-regarded poet and professor at Yale, Alexander is also a frien...

Elizabeth Alexander, Obama Inauguration Poet, "Completely Thrilled"

AP | JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN | Posted 01.19.2009 | Media


NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Elizabeth Alexander was a toddler in a baby stroller when her parents took her to hear Martin Luther King's historic "I Have ...