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Poetic Speeches, The Grandest Gig
Jack Buck -- For America
Although struggling with lung cancer, the legendary baseball broadcaster Buck took the field in one of his final public appearances on Sept. 17, 2001 -- the day baseball resumed after the 9/11 attacks. Buck delivered one of the most spine-tingling, patriotic pieces this national pastime has heard. The 77-year-old concluded the poem by telling critics who felt that baseball returned too soon by stating: "I don't know about you, but as for me, the question has already been answered: Should we be here? Yes!"
Buck, a Holyoke, Mass., native, died less than a year later in June 2002.
"Since this nation was founded under God
more than 200 years ago,
we've been the bastion of Freedom,
the light which keeps the free world aglow.
We do not covet the possessions of others;
We are blessed with the bounty we share.
We have rushed to help other Nations;
anything ... anytime ... anywhere.
War is just not our nature
We won't start, but we will end the fight.
If we are involved,
We shall be resolved
To protect what we know is Right.
We've been challenged by a cowardly foe,
Who strikes and then hides from our view.
With one voice we say,
'We have no choice today,
There is only one thing to do.'
Everyone is saying the same thing and praying,
That we end these senseless moments we are living.
As our fathers did before,
We shall win this unwanted war,
And our children will enjoy the future we'll be giving."
Truth be told, a speech can be memorable for what wasn't said. Take for instance Bobby Orr's retirement ceremony at the Garden on Jan. 9, 1979, when passionate Bruins fans barely gave him a chance to speak. They gave No. 4 a standing ovation that lasted nearly 10 minutes -- such respect from his devoted fans will be remembered far longer than any one-liner.
Obama did indeed reference a great American poet in his speech.
Langston Hughes' "A Dream Deferred"
I am such a fan of people who are able to give great speeches. Abraham Lincoln gave great speeches. Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback (the first African-American Governor) gave great speeches. So did Teddy Roosevelt and John Kennedy.
Who can forget the 1984 Democratic Convention in San Francisco when Jesse Jackson Jr. gave an A+ speech, only to be outdone by Mario Cuomo who delivered his speech from memory, and without a teleprompter. I was transfixed and amazed by what I was witnessing.
The best speech writers understand poetry and have an instinctive connection to they way the politician naturally speaks. Obama writes most of his best work, which is unusual for a modern politicians. Reagan had both a fantastic speechwriter in Noonan (though she is on the opposite end of the political world from me) and an underrated ability to infuse these words (that mimicked his natural patterns) with authenticity. Ted Sorenson and JFK had the same relationship. The modern politician who is most similar to Obama in command of policy and poetry was Winston Churchill.
Please study the links below, very useful for Poetry
Jack Buck -- For America on Sept. 17, 2001
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvP97Z_bvIs
Motivational and Inspirational Sports Speeches on Video
http://www.sportsmindskills.com/publication.php?id=134&CatName=Motivation
How to Write a Motivational Sports Speech
http://www.ehow.com/how_4474613_write-motivational-sports-speech.html
A Great Site With Loads of Speeches
http://www.school-for-champions.com/speeches.htm
Affraid to Make a Speech, Here is a Helpful Site
http://www.afraid-of-speaking-a-speech.com/
Poetic speech and the silence of art
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3612/is_199407/ai_n8731168/
The Poetic Elemeni In Herodotis Speech
http://www.jstor.org/pss/3293006
Othello's Manner of Speaking
http://www.drbilllong.com/ShakeO/OthellosSpeech.html
BOOK
What makes sound patterns expressive?:
the poetic mode of speech perception By Reuven Tsur
[urlhttp://books.google.com/books?id=1yh4p69MaI4C&dq=poetic+speeches&printsec=frontcover&source=in&hl=en&ei=9ukNTIKCJsTflgfxk7WiDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=11&ved=0CEIQ6AEwCg#v=onepage&q&f=false[/url]
How to write a poem for the president
http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2009/01/15/inauguration_poem
The history of poetry at U.S. presidential inaugurations. Here is some background information.
Three times in U.S history, poetry has been read at presidential swearing in ceremonies. Robert Frost read his poetry for John F. Kennedy in 1961. Bill Clinton asked Maya Angelou to read her work for his 1993 inauguration. In 1997 Clinton again asked a poet, Miller Williams, to read for the inauguration. Like Clinton, Williams is an Arkansas native.
January 21, 2007 — Maya Angelou reading her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at the 1993 presidential inauguration of Bill Clinton.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDtw62Ah2zY
Robert Frost certainly reflected Kennedy's background of New England pride and prominence. By asking Angelou to read, Bill Clinton started his presidency speaking to the power of diversity and inclusion in a true democracy.
January 20, 2009 — Poet Elizabeth Alexander recites a poem in honor of the inauguration of Barack Obama.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH6fC3W3YvA
All of these poems are beautiful works of art, but have also become political documents, speaking to specific moments of time in the U.S.
A side note: Robert Frost actually wrote "Dedication" for John F. Kennedy's swearing-in ceremonies. When the sunlight made it difficult for Frost to read his poem, he recited a poem he knew by heart, "The Gift Outright."
You are great, so write a great poem for the world.
Write a poem with the intent that you are going to recite it in front
of everyone in Yankee stadium, and to the world via television.
There is so much going on in this country now,
Get it some deep thought, and show the world your power.
Write a poem that will inspire America as well as speak to her past and future.
Martin Luther King "I have a dream"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbUtL_0vAJk&feature=related
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