Obama to Host Poetry Party at White House

How wonderful it is to have a president in the White House that appreciates culture:

It is a jam, not a slam. President Barack Obama and his cabinet colleagues were today preparing for the first White House poetry party.

Consolidating his reputation for cool after his performance as a stand-up comic on Saturday night, Obama has invited poets and writers, backed by jazz musicians, to perform in the east room tonight.

It was originally billed as a poetry slam but the White House later corrected this, saying that a slam is a competition, which the president’s party was not. It was a jam.

Obama promised on the campaign trail that if he was elected, he would throw the White House open to as wide a range of people as possible. Tonight is intended as part of that.

But it is also because Obama is fond of poetry. He said on the campaign trail no one should graduate from university without having read poetry…

The Guardian UK notes that since becoming president, the Obamas, “are often seen at theatre and concert halls round Washington much more than the Bushes,” and they “have hosted a series of cultural events at the White House.”

Tonight’s poetry/jazz jam/slam will be live streamed on the White House website and it will also be available for viewing after the event.

[Originally published at Bohemian Women]