Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Hillary Clinton's 1969 Commencement Speech at Wellesley

Robert Pinsky, former U.S. Poet Laureate, who reads July 5th at the New York State Summer
Writers Institute in Saratoga, remembers Hillary Clinton's commencement speech at Wellesley, which he attended as a young poetry professor. The piece appeared yesterday in Slate:

"What was amazing, and not standard, was the gift for rising to an occasion: a political gift and a matter of talent surging toward its realization. As part of the prepared part of her speech, Hillary Rodham read a poem by a classmate, a composition also touchingly of that era. On that day in May, in other words, the notes that were struck may have been unremarkable, but the occasion was like hearing a very young, uniquely gifted musician play: something in the sheer, expressive command—a word used about athletes, as well as musicians—was extraordinary, unmistakable, and already formed."

More: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history/2013/07/hillary_clinton_wesleyan_commencement_speech_robert_pinsky_on_the_politician.html

Full schedule of free summer events:
http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst/webpages4/archives/sumread.html