Richard Blanco - Until We Could

I got to see this gorgeous short back in April at the tenth anniversary celebration of Freedom To Marry. The Daily Beast recaps:

It is a decade since the U.S. first state, Massachusetts, enshrined marriage equality in law, and since the founding of campaign group Freedom To Marry (FTM). It has been a fruitful, frustrating decade, a bizarre range of weather systems of advances and losses—but mainly now, finally, advances. To mark the 10 years, FTM commissioned Richard Blanco, the poet for Barack Obama’s second inauguration in 2013, to write a poem commemorating the decade. So powerful was the result, titled “Until We Could,” the organization then commissioned a video to bring Blanco’s words to evocative life.

The poem's text is at the link above.

(Tipped by JMG reader David)

Tomorrow In Provincetown

From the Facebook event page:

Join us for a fun and fur-filled hour of hirsute literary pursuit for a reading and book signing for the new bear poetry anthology, Hibernation, and other poems by bear bards. Bear down to listen up as an outstanding group of authors reads from the book as well as other poems. This free event will be hosted by editor Ron J. Suresha and features contributing authors Alfred Corn, Charlie Hopwood, Daniel Lewiston, Dennis Rhodes, Rocco Russo, Jordan Shu, and Chris Vaccaro. Come listen to world-class poets share their bear-themed poetry. We'll be joined by several other bear authors with new books to share with the community.

Maya Angelou Dies At Age 86

Legendary poet, author, and civil rights activist Maya Angelou has died in her North Carolina home at the age of 86.

Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines confirmed Angelou was found by her caretaker on Wednesday morning. Angelou had been reportedly battling health problems. She recently canceled a scheduled appearance of a special event to be held in her honor. Angelou was set to be honored with the “Beacon of Life Award” at the 2014 MLB Beacon Award Luncheon on May 30 in Houston. Angelou is famous for saying, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

In 1993 Angelou read her now famous poem On The Pulse Of Morning at the inauguration of President Bill Clinton. I was overcome with goosebumps when the poem name-checked gay people at such a prestigious event. Pulse remains one of the very few poems I can (mostly) recite from memory.

There is a true yearning to respond to
The singing River and the wise Rock.
So say the Asian, the Hispanic, the Jew
The African, the Native American, the Sioux,
The Catholic, the Muslim, the French, the Greek
The Irish, the Rabbi, the Priest, the Sheik,
The Gay, the Straight, the Preacher,
The privileged, the homeless, the Teacher.
They hear. They all hear
The speaking of the Tree.


RELATED: Angelou's reading of Pulse was dramatically sampled in Ispirazione's 1996 dance hit Psalm.

Slam Poet Patrick Roche - 21

(Tipped by JMG reader Stray Kat)

Fear Not: A French Poem On Marriage

You don't have to speak French to enjoy this. Translation.

(Tipped by JMG reader Mark)

Dear Straight People

Beat poetry from Denice Frohman.

(Tipped by JMG readers Alan and Denise)

New App: Gay Haiku

Joel Derfner's hit book is now an iPhone app.

Armisted Maupin Settles Super Bowl Bet

Famed gay novelist Amistead Maupin made a Super Bowl bet with fellow writer Laura Lippman in which the loser would pen an ode to the winner's hometown. Here's Maupin's tribute to Baltimore.

The Virtues of Baltimore (After Pondering Weak and Weary)
Who makes Baltimore so fine?
The Duchess of Windsor or Divine?
Poe and his Raven or Mama Cass?
The great John Waters or Ira Glass?
Thurgood Marshall or Adrienne Rich
Barry Levinson or – sonofabitch—
That linebacker who took a stand
For marriage equality in Maryland?
I lift my glass with a way-to-go
To Brendon Ayanbadejo.

Hit the link for Baltimore Fishbowl's illustrated version.

Richard Blanco Reads Inaugural Poem

PBS Interviews The Inauguration Poet

Gay Poet To Read At Inauguration

President Obama has selected openly gay poet Richard Blanco to read at his second inauguration.

On Wednesday the president’s inaugural planners will announce that Mr. Blanco is to be the 2013 inaugural poet, joining the ranks of notables like Robert Frost and Maya Angelou. “Since the beginning of the campaign, I totally related to his life story and the way he speaks of his family, and of course his multicultural background,” Mr. Blanco said in a telephone interview from the rural village of Bethel, Me., where he lives with his partner. “There has always been a spiritual connection in that sense. I feel in some ways that when I’m writing about my family, I’m writing about him.”

Mr. Blanco must now compose an original poem for the president’s ceremonial swearing-in on the steps of the Capitol on Jan. 21. (Mr. Obama will take the official oath at the White House on Jan. 20, as required by the Constitution.) Addie Whisenant, the inaugural committee’s spokeswoman, said Mr. Obama picked Mr. Blanco because the poet’s “deeply personal poems are rooted in the idea of what it means to be an American.”

RELATED: Maya Angelou's 1993 reading of On The Pulse Of The Morning during Bill Clinton's first inauguration was, for me, the most memorable moment of a day laden with giddy promise. When Angelou name-checked gay Americans during the poem, everyone in the room with me shouted in surprise. How things have changed! I can still recite a good portion of On The Pulse from memory, in no small part because Angelou's performance was later incorporated midway into a great trance record.

You, created only a little lower than the angels, have crouched too long in the bruising darkness.

Bette Midler Tweets A Poem On Newt

UPDATE: Following a third verse, Bette tweeted out credit to the author.

NYC Launches Curbside Haiku

NYC's transit agency has launched a temporary "Curbside Haiku" campaign aimed at reducing pedestrian and biking injuries. I have a feeling we'll see the top-left mirror ball sign in Chelsea: "Cars crossing sidewalk / worst New York City hotspot / to run into friends." Giant PDF version here.

NOTE: The above campaign was created by openly gay artist and JMG reader John Morse, who announced his coming wedding to JMG reader Ross Pederson at the official DOT launch event for Curbside Haiku on Monday. John and Ross will become husband & husband this Friday. We wish them well!

Perry Quotes Gay Poet Langston Hughes

Just as Rick Santorum did several weeks ago, during last night's GOP debate Rick Perry quoted legendary gay poet Langston Hughes. Santorum never used the quote again when told of its source.

Afternoon View - Langston Hughes Place

Poetry Slam On Trans Identity

(Via - Bilerico)

Porno Pete As Allen Ginsberg

The hilarious folks at Christwire have outdone themselves with today's entry in which they rewrite Allen Ginsberg's classic poem Howl from the perspective of Peter LaBarabera. It begins:

I saw the greatest hopes of my Christian nation destroyed by homosexuality, penetrating, violating and ejaculating, faith leaders and all-American jocks prowling Castro nights for angry leather studs, suburban hipsters sparking ganja joints as they click through the skanky dilemma of Craigslist at 3am, who Pumas and Chinese tattoos and herbal teas sat up contemplating lubricants and Lady Gaga, who bared their buttocks on webcams and saw millionaire Manhattan sugar daddies conspiring to overturn the U.S. Constitution, who passed through liberal universities with radiant allowances, hallucinating a Clintonian dynasty, who danced fiercely at afterhours clubs, tasting the heights of depraved sodomistic orgies of feces and urine for the first time, who burned away that last shred of decency without even bothering to listen as mothers cried on the other end of the phone, who consumed every word Rachel Maddow ever spoke, liberalism, or prostituted this nation’s future night after night with blog posts, with protests, with Pelosi, with waking nightmares, Veuve Clicquot and Creole crawfish dip and endless fundraising balls, incomparably blind state legislatures voting to legalize sodomy, homosexual marriage, and the utter destruction of all 6,000 years of human history.....

Somebody totally needs to perform this on YouTube. Go read the entire thing. It still kills me that so many of Christwire's readers aren't in on the joke.

RELATED: If you are unfamiliar with Howl and its unique pacing, you might want to read the original first.

Moscow: Hillary Attends Unveiling Of Statue Honoring Gay Poet Walt Whitman

Today Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attended the unveiling of a statue of gay poet Walt Whitman at Moscow State University. But local Russian LGBT activists are disappointed the Clinton did not use the opportunity to denounce the homophobia of the Russian government.

Russia's leading gay activist said Wednesday that he was disappointed that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with an outspoken foe of gay rights during her two-day trip to Russia and did not decry homophobia in the country. Clinton attended a ceremony unveiling a statue of Walt Whitman at Moscow State University with Russian officials including Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov. Luzhkov has blocked all attempts to hold gay pride marches in Moscow, once saying they "can be described in no other way than as satanic."

Clinton did not mention of the issue during the ceremony. Some biographers have described Whitman as homosexual and U.S. gay activists have claimed him as symbol of their movement. "Just as Pushkin and Whitman reset poetry we are resetting our relations for the 21st century," Clinton said. A statue of the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin was erected at George Washington University, in Washington, D.C., in 2000. It was not clear whether Luzhkov was aware of Whitman's status as a gay icon, and sponsors of the statue said they were honoring Whitman strictly for his contributions to literature.

The State Department says they are unaware of any request by Russian activists regarding the event.

Sarah Palin, Poet

Only William Shatner. Classic!

Carol Ann Duffy Becomes UK's First Openly Gay Poet Laureate

The UK has appointed Carol Ann Duffy as its first openly gay poet laureate. She is also the first woman to hold the post.

Duffy, who once said "no self-respecting poet" should have to write verses about the wedding of Queen Elizabeth II's youngest son, will be expected to produce poems for royal weddings, funerals and other state occasions. A witty and popular writer whose work is widely taught in British schools, Duffy is also the first openly gay laureate. Duffy said she had thought "long and hard" before accepting the job, which now has a 10-year term. "I look on it as a recognition of the great woman poets we have writing now," she told the BBC.

The job pays £5000 annually.