Shari's Telling Stories

White House Poetry Jam 2009

Many are tweeting the news. My mom was talking about it today. And I’m very much looking forward to seeing/hearing James Earl Jones tonight, along with Joshua Bennett, Eric Lewis, Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio, Mayda Del Valle and Esperanza Spalding and the rest of the great personalities scheduled to participate. If you want to see it online, visit The White House Live Stream to watch online.

It’s on tonight at 7:45 Eastern Time, Tuesday, May 12, 2009. I’ll be back tonight with my reflection on this great evening. I do wish I was there!

It was a Refreshing Event

It’s always a pleasure to hear James Earl Jones and tonight was no different. He read Shakespeare and did not dissapoint. The Jazz musicians skills were discernible even through my unclear audio.

While I love poetry, I’m not into all the styles. The style Joshua and Jamaica performed is difficult for me to follow. It’s quite exciting. I don’t know that I have the stuff to deliver that style even if I wrote like that.

Learning new artists is quite the adventure. These poets took me out of my comfort zone, for sure. My tastes generally run along the lines of Maya Angelou, written and performed, Billy Collins and Audre Lorde. It was a refreshing change from the more serious political atmosphere. I for one am really glad they did it and shared it online.

I do wonder what others thought. Please share your thoughts if you have something constructive to say.