Poetry AND THE American Presidency PETER LANG New York (cid:121) Washington, D.C./Baltimore (cid:121) Bern Frankfurt (cid:121) Berlin (cid:121) Brussels (cid:121) Vienna (cid:121) Oxford PAUL J. FERLAZZO Poetry AND THE American Presidency PETER LANG New York (cid:121) Washington, D.C./Baltimore (cid:121) Bern Frankfurt (cid:121) Berlin (cid:121) Brussels (cid:121) Vienna (cid:121) Oxford Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ferlazzo, Paul J. Poetry and the American presidency / Paul J. Ferlazzo. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Politics and literature—United States. 2. Presidents—United States—Poetry. 3. Poetry—Social aspects—United States. 4. Presidents—United States— Knowledge and learning. I. Title. PN1081.F47 809.1’9358—dc23 2012009351 ISBN 978-1-4331-1768-8 (hardcover) ISBN 978-1-4539-0540-1 (e-book) Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data is available on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de/. The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council of Library Resources. © 2012 Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., New York 29 Broadway, 18th floor, New York, NY 10006 www.peterlang.com All rights reserved. Reprint or reproduction, even partially, in all forms such as microfilm, xerography, microfiche, microcard, and offset strictly prohibited. Printed in Germany a_fm_t5 Pal 3/7/2012 12:43 PM Page v For Michael, Olivia, Julia, and Anna a_fm_t5 Pal 3/7/2012 12:43 PM Page vi a_fm_t5 Pal 3/7/2012 12:43 PM Page vii Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction xi 1. Thomas Jefferson 1 2. John Quincy Adams 19 3. Abraham Lincoln 34 4. Theodore Roosevelt 46 5. Woodrow Wilson 58 6. John Fitzgerald Kennedy 68 7. Jimmy Carter 88 8. Ronald Reagan 100 9. Ten Presidents 111 George Washington 111 James Madison 113 a_fm_t5 Pal 3/7/2012 12:43 PM Page viii viii | Contents John Tyler 114 James A. Garfield 117 Herbert Hoover 118 Harry S. Truman 120 Gerald R. Ford 121 William J. Clinton 124 George W. Bush 127 Barack Obama 130 Afterword 135 Works Cited 139 Index 143 a_fm_t5 Pal 3/7/2012 12:43 PM Page ix Acknowledgments I wish to thank the faculty and administrators of Northern Arizona University for their support of a sabbatical leave that was essential in the early stages of research for this book. I also thank the numerous colleagues, students, and friends who encouraged me in the project and made helpful suggestions, in par- ticular, Bill Burke, Allen Woodman, Glenn Reed, Paul Helford, Donelle Ruwe, James Leve, the late Jim Simmerman, Peggy Mullaney, Brian Rademacher, Heather and David Alberts, Beverly Burns, Jacquelyn Jackson, Fred Linch, Jeb Rosebrook, Roger Hornbeck, Perry Snyder, Nancy Bunge, and Steve Robinson. And to family members who had faith in the project and confidence in my work, I give a special note of thanks and love to Richard and Mary Sheedy, Michael, Dessia, the late John Paul, and my beloved wife, Carole. *** Elizabeth Alexander, excerpt from “Praise Song for the Day” from Crave Radiance: New and Selected Poems. Copyright © 2005 by Elizabeth Alexander. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company, Inc., on behalf of Graywolf Press, www.graywolfpress.org. Excerpts from “The Strength of Fields” by James Dickey from Selected Poems (Wesleyan University Press, 1998). © 1998 by James Dickey and reprinted by permission of Wesleyan University Press.