Poets for Obama/Biden

	Sunday, October 12, 2008
Time:	2:00pm - 5:00pm
Location:	Poetry Project @ St. Marks
Street:	Parish Hall, 131 E. 10th St.
City/Town:	New York, NY
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Contact Info

Email:

alison_meyers@sbcglobal.net

Description

A reading to promote change.

*Admission by donation

** Donations at the door and merchandise sold to benefit the Obama/Biden campaign

elena ALEXANDER * e.j. ANTONIO * tara BETTS * stefan BONDELL * susan BRENNAN * mahogany BROWNE * cherylCLARKE * delanaDAMERON * thomas Sayers ELLIS * luis FRANCIA * sarah GAMBITO * ellen HAGAN * bob HOLMAN * juliet HOWARD * roya HAKAKIAN * avery IRONS * hettie JONES * jacqueline Jones LAMON * joseph LEGASPI * brant LYON * marty McCONNELL * alison MEYERS * idra NOVEY * valery OISTEANU * pit PINEGAR * karen PITTELMAN * ilka SCOBIE * ravi SHANKAR * patricia SMITH * patricia Spears JONES * stacy SZYMASZEK * r.a. VILLANUEVA * rich VILLAR * jerry WILLIAMS * jeff WRIGHT * rita ZILBERMAN * and more!

What is your "I" doing/ How about being a part of "we"

Fa rils? Listening to Hillary Clinton's speech last night I couldn't help but remember sitting in Prageeta's (Sharma) workshop & Prageeta asking us to consider what our "I'(s)" were doing in the poem, what was their purpose, what were they really trying to convey? The correlation to thinking about "I" and its affectation can be further connected in the book, Ugly Feelings, which I've blogged about in a previous post. Nonetheless, I couldn't help but notice (& tell me you did too!) how often Hillary used the first person singular pronoun. & her "I" was & is an ego-fueled affair.

She also mentioned wanting respect for the 18 million that wanted to see her as president. Ok, so exactly how are they being disrespected? What she is doing is privileging their voice, while simultaneously ignoring all the voices of the "others." (others can be defined as Obama supporters, Republicans, Liberals, fence-sitters, anarchist, & apathetics) So who's really guilty of disrespect? She is really showing off her elitist colors & inclusionary gang of a selected few. Hmmm...


On that note, my man, Obama's speech was one of "we." He, instead of ignoring Hillary's support-base, thanked them for their challenge and making him a better candidate. He also didn't dwell on the "I" instead he spoke with inspiration about what we, as a collective group of citizens in America, can do for this country, as well as, the world. This is the vision I want in the front office. A vision that encompasses the rest of the universe-- that sees all humans as equal & deserving. What Obama did, instead of focus on himself, was to focus on hope- a collective hope for the world, & focus on starting that change here in this country. He also spoke about what kind of future do "we" want for our children & for the environment? These are the true challenges & we're about to step up! So the question remains, are you steppin' with "us" or still prone to your isolated world of "I?"