JFK Library gets Robert Frost poem
The John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston has obtained the original version of the poem that Robert Frost prepared for the inauguration of John F. Kennedy but never read in its entirety because of the glare of the sun.
At Kennedy’s 1961 inauguration, Frost, who was 86 at the time, stood at the podium reading the beginning of “Dedication,” a poem he wrote by hand then typed for easier reading at the inauguration. But after trying to use a hat borrowed from Vice President Lyndon Johnson to shield the page from bright sun glancing off the snow, Frost recited his poem, “The Gift Outright,” from memory.
Frost had intended to deliver a full reading of “Dedication” before reciting “The Gift Outright.”
The museum received the original handwritten poem this week from the estate of Frederick Holborn, one of President Kennedy’s special assistants, who died last June.
“It is such a remarkable piece of American history and culture. It is just wonderful to have it back home,” said Deborah Leff, the museum’s director.
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