Jammin’ in the East Room

[elleng]

Anyone remember?

The candles flickered, the bassist strummed and, one by one, the writers and poets seized their moments in front of the microphone.

James Earl Jones served up Othello, his sonorous voice rumbling through the East Room. Mayda del Valle, a poet from Chicago, conjured her grandmother from Puerto Rico. Joshua Brandon Bennett, a poet from Yonkers, N.Y., delivered an ode to his deaf sister, his fingers flying as he translated his words into signs.

It was Tuesday night, time for the White House poetry jam. A pony-tailed disc jockey hovered over a pair of turntables in the hallway, guests sipped white wine and President Obama and his wife, Michelle, celebrated the power of the spoken word.


http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/jammin-in-the-east-room/?hp

[Tangerine LaBamba]

1. I just flashed on Pabal Casals,

playing for John and Jackie Kennedy and their guests.



Man, it's so nice to have culture back in our White House!

[goclark]

2. How sweet it is ~