MightyWriters

“I write to find out entirely what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.”

—Joan Didion

Summer Sky
The summer sky can be
As blue as the clear blue sea
As gray as dust.

At night, it’s like layers on a sandwich.
Dark blue, light blue, orange and pink,

And as black as the dark midnight sky.

—Melissa Walker, 11

(member of Mighty Writers Girl Power poetry workshop)

“There are a lot of people who call
themselves teachers or leaders,
but they’re really just propagandists.”

—Mos Def

Too many tragedies: Here RFK gives first speech following brother JFK’s death.

Earlier today we posted this link to a story on time.com by former Kennedy aide Bob Shrum.

In the story Shrum asserted that Sen. Edward Kennedy’s best speech came in 1980 when he conceded the nomination for president to Jimmy Carter.

Now, though, the LA Times is reporting that Kennedy’s greatest speech came when he eulogized his brother Bobby, also a fine writer and orator, following his assassination in 1968.

You can decide for yourself by viewing the LA Times story here.
And video of the RFK eulogy right here.

Naturally, as Mighty Writers, we’re particularly attuned to the stories rolling in that tell of Edward Kennedy’s writing and oratorical skills.

There were many great Kennedy speeches, and we’ll doubtless be seeing excerpts from them all in the days ahead.

But according to former Kennedy aide and speechwriter Bob Shrum, the Senator’s speech conceding defeat to Jimmy Carter in 1980 was his best ever.

Shrum’s story about that speech for time.com is here.

And C-Span’s video posting of the speech can be found here.

“My father always looked at the effort
grade rather than the final grade.”

—Edward Kennedy

Click here for a look at the Boston Globe front page.