An original invitation from President Kennedy's cabinet under the honorary chairmanship of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy to "An Evening with Robert Frost" on 1 May 1961, held in the State Department Auditorium.
The State Department, Washington, D.C. The White House, 1961. This original invitation card was issued in the name of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy to a black tie "Evening with Robert Frost" held in the State Department auditorium on 1 May 1961 and attended by numerous members of the U.S. Congress, as well as justices of the Supreme Court and various ambassadors.
The invitation is printed in black script on heavy card measuring 5.69 x 4.5 inches. The message, in nine centered lines, reads: “Under the Honorary Chairmanship of | Mrs. Kennedy | The Members of the President’s Cabinet | request the honor of your presence | at | “An Evening with Robert Frost” | on Monday the first of May | at eight-thirty o’clock | State Department Auditorium”. At the lower is printed the “R.S.V.P.” telephone number, at the lower right, the “Black tie” requirement. Condition of the invitation is near fine, clean and complete with just the slightest suggestion of wear to the lower left corner.
"The reading was held in the State Department auditorium on May 1, with a full house that included numerous members of the U.S. House and Senate, a couple of Supreme Court Justices, and various ambassadors from abroad... Much to the poet's disappointment, President Kennedy was prevented from coming by a sudden crisis in Southeast Asia - the very beginnings of U.S. involvement with Vietnam. Frost began the hour with observations on the differences and similarities between science and poetry, one of his favorite topics, then read a selection of his most well known poems. The audience was so taken with him that they called him back on stage for several encores."
Try to even imagine in today’s Washington D.C. such a leadership assembly of political elite not only convening to hear a poet read aloud, but asking for encores.
It was no accident that brought the 87-year-old Frost before the Camelot assemblage.
On January 20th, 1961, iconic American poet and four-time Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Frost became the first poet to read in the program of a U.S. Presidential inauguration. Frost composed a new poem - “Dedication” - for the ceremony, but glare from the sun and snow famously prevented him from reading the sheet on which his poem was typed, so Frost instead recited “The Gift Outright” from memory.
The new President, John F. Kennedy, would say: “I've never taken the view the world of politics and the world of poetry are so far apart.” In the case of his relationship with Frost, this was more than just sentiment. In March of 1959, at a New York City press conference preceding a gala to celebrate his 85th birthday, Frost was asked about the alleged decline of New England and replied: “The next President of the United States will be from Boston. Does that sound as if New England is decaying?” Frost repeated the endorsement in the months to come, a boon to the junior Senator from Massachusetts.
Kennedy wrote to Frost and quoted his poetry in his speeches. When Kennedy telegraphed Frost to ask him to speak at his Inauguration Frost responded: “If you can bear at your age the honor of being made President of the United States, I ought to be able at my age to bear the honor of taking some part in your inauguration. I may not be equal to it but I can accept it for my cause – the arts, poetry, now for the first time taken into the affairs of statesmen.”
Perhaps less known, Frost already had a semi-official position with the government when Kennedy took office. "In October 1958 Frost became the poetry consultant at the Library of Congress... Frost worked extremely hard, pursuing his role with energy and imagination" and "was given the title of honorary consultant in the humanities during the Kennedy administration. Frost's achievement during these years was considerable." His work led to his being awarded a Congressional Gold Medal, bestowed in 1962 by President Kennedy. 1963 – January for Frost, November for Kennedy – would claim them both.
Reference: Parini, Robert Frost: A Life. Item #008849
Price: $650.00