Calling on Lovers of all things Poetry

January 20th is around the corner and this day marks a historic day for the nation, especially for all Chicagoans. It is the day that President elect, Barack Obama, the first African American president in the history of the United States will be sworn into office. To Mark this day that will live forever in the hearts of many, the Humanities Center of DePaul University is organizing a free for all day with Poetry at 5:30pm presented by the DePaul Poetry Institute with its newest publication titled "A Writer's Congress-Chicago Poets on Barack Obama's Inauguration." The public is also invited to join in the celebration as Chicago acclaimed poets read from this latest publication in celebrating this historic day.

The venue is Lincoln Park Campus, Student Center room 314 and I promise to bring more news from this event for all those who are unable to attend. Check back again after the 20th of January.

01/19/09

It is 11:28pm and I am sitting in my living room watching the Oprah Winfrey show on the inauguration (already saw the DVR version shown at 3:00pm today), and it occurs to me that we are at a pivotal moment in America when we can all come together as one to serve one another, and the country. If you haven't heard the new "America Song" by David Foster, Will. I. Am, et al, you have until 5:00pm 01/20/09 to watch or download the song from oprah.com.

This also brought to my mind the Day of Poetry event tomorrow at DePaul and what it means to a lot of people. I can't wait to see the faces of the poets as they recite those poems. I can't wait to see the faces of the audience as they listen to those words in the form of poetry written by the members of the DePaul Institute of Poetry.

A new day has to America and I can't wait to see what happens next. I will be at the event tomorrow and will be reporting on the outcome.
Please stay tuned...

01/20/09

The D-Day is finally here. Well, thanks to the class closures today in the loop campus I was able to stay home and watch the Inauguration events on television. I am thankful for this mishap today that closed down 3 buildings on campus today because as I was watching the the event unfold live on national television, I realized that I'd rather not be told the story of what happened.

So, here I am at 3:52pm and armed with a PV-200 digital camera from the Cage, all set to go to the inaugural event hosted by the Humanities Center. If you are unable to attend this event, do not despair because I will be bringing some footage of this event.

8:00pm

The poetry reading was a success and very touching. 20 Poets read their pieces to the audience. My favorite was Jan Bottiglieri's "Barack." The audience received free copies of the book of poetry and the food was also great. I do have a video coverage of some of the readings but can't upload it yet due to technical issues. But below are some of the photographs from the event.

Jan Bottieglieri as she read from her peotry titled Barack.

Quraysh Ali Lansana as she read from her peotry, "Sport."

Kevin Stein, Illinois Poet Laureate giving the opening speech.