[Jim Moonan]

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James: "...the fact that she's a Harvard grad has absolutely nothing to do with her ability as a poet. My guess is that she'll end up going to medical school or something. She's 22."


I think it informed her. We are the sum total of our experiences. It provided a platform. —Why medical school? She has said point blank with a twinkle in her eye her that she wants to be president of U.S. in 2036. That would indicate politics, right? I think she is an artist in her bones.

Thanks for the link Julie. I'm going to watch.

Last night I was listening to/watching a Rattle Poetry video podcast and hung on just long enough (I was tempted to stop because I was falling asleep) to see/hear a spoken word poet named Alora Young, a high school student and youth poet laureate for the southern states. Here it is.
Before you decide NOT to listen, I beg you to skip directly to 13:45 and listen to her recite a poem entitled, “Cameraman”. I think it manages to bridge the gap between spoken word and written word poetry. As she recites it, the poem is being scrolled on the screen.
I think it’s better than Amanda Gorman’s inaugural poem. Please watch and let me know what you think.

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[Roger Slater]

Thanks, Jim. That's really good, I agree.

Those who want to skip the pre-poem chatter, here is a link to where she starts to read.

[Duncan Gillies MacLaurin]

Thanks, Jim, Roger. That's fantastic! Imagine if that had been read as the inaugural poem! It's gold.

Duncan

[R. S. Gwynn]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...RdpJ1WGE_upHso

[RCL]

Good news! There is fine poetry in athletics and public service, far more than in politics, for my money.

[Martin Elster]

There are also some famous poets who have written about sports. I have a little book I picked up not too long ago from a curbside box library. It's called Sports Poems. Some of the poets included are May Swenson, Marianne Moore, Carl Sandburg, John Updike, Sir Walter Scott, Ogden Nash, Starbuck, Cumin, James Dickey, Lord Byron, William Wordsworth, William Carlos Williams, and many others. It was a real find!

After reading the article in the Guardian, I saw that she just signed a modeling contract!

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...-poet-laureate

[Roger Slater]

I just heard that orders for her poetry book are so abundant that her publisher is printing three million copies.

[R. S. Gwynn]

"The Goal We Seek"

[Bill Carpenter]

Don't miss these two great sports poems by Michael Cantor in Life in the Second Circle: "The Man Who Caught The Pass" and "Muhammad Ali Entered My Dream Just to Say Hello."

[Martin Elster]

Yes, Bill. I have Michael's book and they are, indeed, great sports poems. Now I'm going to read them again.