tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3933982574370506108.post3109915520339650751..comments2024-03-28T04:54:20.979-05:00Comments on Poetry & Popular Culture: Where Be the Linebreaks? Notes on the Second Inaugural PoemMike Chasarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00272500491569722314noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3933982574370506108.post-57411317545175494932009-02-15T12:07:00.000-06:002009-02-15T12:07:00.000-06:00I thoroughly enjoyed your post but I do wonder whe...I thoroughly enjoyed your post but I do wonder whether Rev. Lowery was as deliberate in his choice of words and poetry as you suggest. I know often as a poet the words seem to come out of the blue such that the poet feels more like the vessel than the originator, which obviously suggests some other level of consciousness in writing. Moreover, in the realm of the intentional, congregations including the one outside the Capital find the most memorable are words and phrases that include rhyme. I think of Rev. Jesse Jackson. And I think of how we all can recall lyrics to songs (and rhyming poems in iambic pentameter) far better than words of the most favorite teachers, preachers and politicians.Skye Van Saunhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05198248674695988995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3933982574370506108.post-73880297901712236232009-02-07T12:58:00.000-06:002009-02-07T12:58:00.000-06:00Hi Mike, I'm new to your site and I just wanted to...Hi Mike, I'm new to your site and I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed this post! I really appreciate the way you've highlighted this moment of unexpected poetry in Rev. Lowery's benediction. This passage really resonated in particular: <BR/><BR/><I>This is not nostalgia at work; Lowery's lines help us see and feel (and feel thankful for) the distance that the country has come since the 1960s without, at the same time, dismissing the civil rights movement's imperative for social justice in the present day.</I><BR/><BR/>Yes! You hit the nail on the head. Not even the cable news pundits seem to get the nuances of his word choices. Rev. Lowery accomplished so much with his remarks and it is amazing how the words felt at once improvised and as if he had preparing them all his life. But then, that's the mark of a good preacher, right?Claudiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16067322036695571575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3933982574370506108.post-64749065813971627322009-01-28T05:42:00.000-06:002009-01-28T05:42:00.000-06:00AMENAMENJeannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00805969763766895335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3933982574370506108.post-70658112562914980592009-01-27T21:19:00.000-06:002009-01-27T21:19:00.000-06:00My students and I were discussing the history and ...My students and I were discussing the history and meanings of the word "mellow" in my "Writing Across Media" (Technocultural Studies) class today, and I brought up Rev Lowery's words of inspiration. I really enjoyed your interpretation of the event and the poetry, and I will make sure to check back to "Poetry & Popular Culture" for more.Andy Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00338567966702012450noreply@blogger.com