It’s going to be a very busy few days—besides the end of semester insanity (we’re all living in a state of denial, because if we think about how much there is to do we want to cry…) the Lannan symposium, which started this evening, goes until Thursday. This year’s symposium is takes the theme “Let Freedom Ring: Art and Democracy in the King Years,” and a number of people involved in the civil rights/black freedom movement in the 1960s are assembled at Georgetown. There is something amazing about having so many people in the one place.

This evening, after the keynote by Vincent Harding, there was a reading featuring
Haki Madhubuti, Eugene Redmond and Amiri Baraka. It was certainly an occasion where no-one would have suggested that politics and poetry should be kept separate! Politics was not just part of the poems themselves, but the readers talked about Barack Obama, and follow-up questions also focussed on Obama. While the fierce support of Obama was no surprise, I was a bit disappointed at the language used to disparage the other candidates. Mainly because I hate that aspect of politics. I was particularly happy to hear Baraka read—all three, though, were very engaging, with a very biting sense of humour.

The days are seeming longer and longer—there’s so much to do! I’m trying to make sure I write at least two pages a day towards all my final papers. If I can keep that up, then I can keep my head above water.