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Obama invites poet Elizabeth Alexander to read at his inauguration
AFP - 1 hour 5 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) - - Poet Elizabeth Alexander will recite a specially composed work at Barack Obama's inauguration next month, becoming only the fourth writer to read their work as part of a US presidential swearing-in ceremony.
Alexander, a 46-year-old professor of African-American studies and a finalist for the 2005 Pullitzer Prize, will deliver her poem moments after Obama is sworn in as the country's first black president on January 20, organizers said.
"My joy at being selected to compose and deliver a poem on the occasion of Obama's presidential inaugural emanates from my deep respect for him as a person of meaningful, powerful words that move us forward," Alexander wrote on her website (www.elizabethalexander.net).
"This is a powerful moment in our history. The joy I feel is sober and profound because so much struggle and sacrifice have brought us to this day," she said.
Alexander will become only the fourth poet invited to deliver one of their compositions at an inauguration.
The first was American icon Robert Frost, who recited a poem at John F Kennedy's inaugural ceremony in January 1961.
Bill Clinton invited African American author Maya Angelou to read at his 1993 inauguration, and then had fellow Arkansan Miller Williams recite after his reelection in 1997.
Alexander, who told The Hartford Courant newspaper that she had yet to compose the work she will read next month, noted how unusual it was for a poet to feature at a presidential swearing-in ceremony.
"I hope that this portends well for the future of the arts in our everyday and civic life," she said.
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US President-elect, seen here playing a round of golf in Hawaii, has invited US poet Elizabeth Alexander to recite a specially composed work at his inauguration next month, making her only the fourth writer to read their work as part of a US presidential swearing-in ceremony.
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