© 2024 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY · WNPR
WPKT · WRLI-FM · WEDW-FM · Public Files Contact
ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Poetry, Politics & (Bully) Pulpits

http://cptv.vo.llnwd.net/o2/ypmwebcontent/Commodore%20Skahill/Colin%20McEnroe%20Show%2004-11-2011.mp3

Today's show is in two segments. One is about the "bully pulpit," that notion that the presidency provides a natural soap box that enables the president to alter the national mood and frame the way we think. The other part of the show is a conversation with a poet and former head of the NEA.  One of his books is called Can Poetry Matter?

Of course, the two ideas are linked. If President Obama has lost the inherent advantage of the bully pulpit, it's at least partly because he has lost control of his own poetry.
 
As Connecticut's own Elizabeth Alexander said on the day of Obama's inauguration:
 
We encounter each other in words, words
spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed,
words to consider, reconsider.
She ended
In today’s sharp sparkle, this winter air,
any thing can be made, any sentence begun.
On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp,
praise song for walking forward in that light.
 
Leave your comments below, e-mail colin@wnpr.org or Tweet us @wnprcolin.

Tags
Colin McEnroe is a radio host, newspaper columnist, magazine writer, author, playwright, lecturer, moderator, college instructor and occasional singer. Colin can be reached at colin@ctpublic.org.

Stand up for civility

This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Public’s Members — listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. As a community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years.

Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are building a better—and more civil—Connecticut to live, work, and play.

Related Content