Grace Cavalieri
Poems
Father
I Gave You My Work, Gilbert
Don't Undersell Yourself
January
You Can't Start The Spiritual Journey
The Protest
Going South
Two by Two
This Is
Helpmates

Interviews
Grace Cavalieri on MiPOradio
Poetry Commentaries
"INNUENDOES"
Poetry Interviews
"ON LOCATION"
Interviews with
 U.S. Poets Laureate
Interviews with Significant Poets
Currency of the Heart
An Interview with Grace Cavalieri
Scene4 Magazine
The Poet and the Poem from the Library of Congress

Articles

Tapes and Books
Pinecrest Rest Haven Audio Tape
WPFW 89.3FM Poetry Anthology
Ordering Information

© 2008 Grace Cavalieri

The Ubiquitous Poetry of Washington, D.C.

By Kenneth Carroll

Article excerpted from Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2000 Program Guide

The official history of poetry in Washington is told primarily by its scholars and formal institutions. Since the 1800s the Library of Congress has been a magnet pulling the great poets of the world to our city. Universities like Howard, Georgetown, American, and George Washington have also hosted their share of poets. But the true story of Washington poetry is found in the neighborhoods where poets lived and the everyday lives of people they witnessed. Poets like Georgia Douglas Johnson, May Miller, Sterling Brown, and Jean Toomer all found considerable inspiration in the neighborhoods and the people who inhabited them. Johnson's weekly "S Street Salon" hosted the likes of Toomer, Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, and Angelina Grimke, who often introduced new works there.

Today, in addition to its vibrant written literary tradition, D.C. has become one of the most exciting cities for spoken-word poets and performers. Why is understandable if we examine two important D.C. community institutions that were born in the 1970s.

"It was when I began 'The Poet and the Poem' that I learned how ubiquitous poetry was in Washington, D.C.," relates Grace Cavalieri, founder and host of the ground-breaking radio program that has captured the ears and hearts of Washington-area poetry lovers for 20 years on Pacifica outlet WPFW 89.3 FM. What Cavalieri discovered when she opened the airwaves for poets to hear and be heard was that a deep folk tradition existed in D.C. It manifested itself through the barbers, grocery clerks, and church deacons who called in to be a part of Cavalieri's "Dial-A-Poem" program. "The Poet and the Poem" featured not only the literary greats who lived and performed in D.C., it also featured our neighbors in Anacostia and Brookland who wrote poetry to raise the everydayness of their lives to art. Many emerging poets have discovered themselves and been discovered as a result of Cavalieri's program, which now reaches poetry fans across the United States and around the world through its association with the Library of Congress and public radio. "We announced our presence to the world in 1977 by coming on the air with the music of Duke Ellington and the poetry of Sterling Brown," says Cavalieri, who would continue this rich mix of music and poetry with her annual poetry and music celebrations at the famed DC Space nightclub.

Kenneth Carroll, a native Washingtonian, is a poet, playwright, and a freelance features writer. His poetry, plays, and essays have been widely published. He is Executive Director of DC WritersCorps, an award-winning arts and community service program.