Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Rod Blagojevich and Rudyard Kipling

I was listening to the radio just the other day and could not believe it when I heard Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich quote the popular English poet Rudyard Kipling. It actually offended me in a small way.

I love the poetry of Rudyard Kipling, and over the years I have argued that he was not so much a racist, but a poet who wrote about the romantic and heroic times that he lived in. As for Rod Blagojevich, while I believe you are Innocent until proven guilty, I just found it odd that he would choose that poem.

And then I read NPR's Linton Weeks article titled Rod Blagojevich And The Poetry Slam. The article gave me a total new take on Rudyard Kipling and his poem It.

Rudyard Kipling @Amazon.com

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

happy new year!!!

Anonymous said...

try this poet Mihai Eminescu.

Moanerplicity said...

FITZ!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so glad you're a presence up in this place, man! HAPPY NEW YEAR to you & yours!

"IF" is one of those rare and timeless poems that seemed channeled through Kipling from the Mind and The Heart and The Hand of GOD Himself. It's just that grand. Just that real. And just that necessary!

Snatch JOY, my friend!

One.

Lin