In the USA, and every leap year, the general elections have been held on the first Tuesday following the first Monday of November since 1845. Due to the fact that the country was mainly an agrarian society, November was considered the most suitable month. The autumn harvest was over and the weather conditions were still mild for farmers to travel to the polling stations. This journey could take rural residents a whole day, so Monday was a convenient day to do it once they had attended their religious services on Sunday. The first Tuesday after the first Monday was chosen in order to prevent it from falling on November 1st, All Saints Day, a holy day of obligation for Catholics. A second reason was that it was on the first day of each month when merchants did their books from the preceding one.
Whatever the results, the presidential swearing ceremony does not take place until January. And, on this day of hope and introspection, poetry has been read on some occasions. At Kennedy´s inauguration, 87-year-old Robert Frost recited one of his poems. Maya Angelou did the same when Bill Clinton took his oath of office.
Plenty of American presidents have been captivated by poetry. Jefferson often quoted the classics, mainly Homer, Virgil and Milton. Lincoln was keen on Robert Burns. T. Roosevelt was a devoted reader of poetry and he even wrote essays about it. Jimmy Carter, who adored Dylan Thomas, published a book with his own verses. W. Wilson was fond of limericks and he composed love poems. G. Ford knew Rudyard Kipling´s If by heart and it was his inspiration.
In one of his speeches Kennedy pointed out that "When power leads men towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations.
When power narrows the areas of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the
richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses"
Does anynone still doubt politics and literature is a good combination? Let´s rememember Winston Churchill, a brilliant Prime Minister who received the Nobel Prize for Literature
ReplyDeleteOnce again, poetry was read at the presidential swearing ceremony. It was Obama´s second one and, on this occasion, Richard Blanco, a Cuban American born in Madrid, was the poet chosen to deliver the inaugural poem.
ReplyDelete"One Today" has reminded me of Walt Whitman, quoting everyday anecdotes and implicitly praising democracy and the United States, partly exploring his self, partly celebrating Americans´ single identity as people. So spiritual, so universal.