The Marginalian
The Marginalian

Reads tagged with “Elizabeth Alexander”

The Grandmother, the Mermaid, and the Soul: Poet Elizabeth Alexander on How Literature Widens the Portal of the Possible
The Grandmother, the Mermaid, and the Soul: Poet Elizabeth Alexander on How Literature Widens the Portal of the Possible

How a poem made a life and a life a poem.

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Astronomy, Race, and the Unwitnessed Radiance Inside History’s Blind Spots
Astronomy, Race, and the Unwitnessed Radiance Inside History’s Blind Spots

A poetic instrument for observing and redrawing the spectrum of privilege and possibility.

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The Universe in Verse 2017: Full Show
The Universe in Verse 2017: Full Show

An evening of poetry celebrating great scientists and scientific discoveries, read by beloved artists, writers, and musicians.

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Elizabeth Alexander on How Great Artists Orient Themselves to Light of the World
Elizabeth Alexander on How Great Artists Orient Themselves to Light of the World

“Art that speaks to any of us always comes from a very particular place, and then we find ourselves in it in some kind of way.”

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Multivocality, Polyphony, Gumbo Yaya: Elizabeth Alexander, Barack Obama’s Inaugural Poet, on the Power of Poetry in Moments of Powerlessness
Multivocality, Polyphony, Gumbo Yaya: Elizabeth Alexander, Barack Obama’s Inaugural Poet, on the Power of Poetry in Moments of Powerlessness

“We just have to really, really, really dust ourselves off and do our work. That’s all there is to it — love each other, do your work.”

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Aloneness, Belonging, and the Paradox of Vulnerability, in Love and Creative Work
Aloneness, Belonging, and the Paradox of Vulnerability, in Love and Creative Work

Wisdom on the elementary particles of our shared humanity from Alain de Botton, Brené Brown, Elizabeth Alexander, and other visionaries across the spectrum of the creative life.

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The Universe in Verse 2019: Full Show
The Universe in Verse 2019: Full Show

“Let your soul stand cool and composed before a million universes.”

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The Venus Hottentot: Elizabeth Alexander Reads Her Stirring Poem About the Roots of Racism and the Misuses of Science
The Venus Hottentot: Elizabeth Alexander Reads Her Stirring Poem About the Roots of Racism and the Misuses of Science

“Elegant facts await me.”

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Radical Hope: Philosopher Jonathan Lear on the Paradoxical Seedbed of Courage and Cultural Resilience
Radical Hope: Philosopher Jonathan Lear on the Paradoxical Seedbed of Courage and Cultural Resilience

“Radical hope anticipates a good for which those who have the hope as yet lack the appropriate concepts with which to understand it.”

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Elizabeth Alexander on Writing, the Ethic of Love, Language as a Vehicle for the Self, and the Inherent Poetry of Personhood
Elizabeth Alexander on Writing, the Ethic of Love, Language as a Vehicle for the Self, and the Inherent Poetry of Personhood

“You have to tell your own story simultaneously as you hear and respond to the stories of others.”

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