Slog

News & Arts

Line Out

Music & the City
at Night

« Pilgrims Progress | "Where's My Flying Car?" »

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Books Re: Our President-Elect Reads Poetry

Posted by Paul Constant on Thu, Nov 13, 2008 at 1:51 PM

In response to this post about Obama reading poetry, Slog tipper ubutunes writes:

Turns out he writes it, too, or used to, when he was surfer boy Barry Obama his first years as Occidental College. Check out this report from Fox news in Greensboro, featuring Bill the Baker, a then friend of Obama.

Many thanks to ubutunes, who notes, in the spirit of full disclosure, that he "went to grad school with Bill the Baker." Did he go by Bill the Grad Student back then, or did he bake in addition to his studies?

Comments (9) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment

I wonder if more or less people would have voted for him if he ran as "Barry Obama."

Posted by boxofbirds on November 13, 2008 at 2:24 PM

The New Yorker ran an article about Obama's poetry last year, and they printed one of his poems ("Pops", about his grandfather) a month or two ago.

Here they are. His prose style actually translates fairly smoothly into poetry.

Posted by V on November 13, 2008 at 2:42 PM

Are we the poets that write the poetry.

Or is it the poetry that writes the poets.

Health care is a right, that must be written.

And yet, we must right the wrong of those rights yet to be wrote in a rite of passage.

Posted by Barack Obama on November 13, 2008 at 2:47 PM

More like Bill the Stoner back then!

Posted by ubutunes on November 13, 2008 at 2:50 PM

Damn, I should'a said, Bill the Baked!

Posted by ubutunes on November 13, 2008 at 2:54 PM

"We socialized a lot."

Fucking Socialists.

Posted by tabletop_joe on November 13, 2008 at 4:39 PM

I think that I shall never see

A Constitution as lovely as a chainsawed tree

It brings to mind my lovely shredder

And walk-in safe to make you wetter.

Posted by John McCain's Bud Cheney on November 13, 2008 at 4:49 PM

Roses are red

Violets are blue

You derailed my candidacy, Sarah

Fuck you

Posted by John McCain on November 13, 2008 at 5:12 PM

Hitler enjoyed poetry. Ahmadinejad is the new Hitler. Therefore, poetry is a liberal plot to destroy Israel and launch a new Holocaust. Q.E.D., bitches!

Posted by John Bailo on November 13, 2008 at 5:46 PM