WASHINGTON — Jill Biden paid tribute to the power of poetry as she honored the 2023 class of National Student Poets on Monday at the White House, saying poetry “feeds our spirit.”
“In so many moments throughout my life, I turned to poetry,” the first lady said, citing her dark nights and brighter days or moments of unbridled joy or unbearable heartbreak. “Poetry has been a refuge, a soothing companion that gives voice to emotions I can’t always articulate on my own. Poetry feeds our spirit when we’re hungry for something more.”
The five students, each representing a different region of the United States, read their work before an audience of classmates who joined remotely from their respective hometowns and parents and other relatives seated in the White House auditorium.
The poets are: Gabriella Miranda of Salt Lake City; Kallan McKinney of Norman, Okla.; Shangri-La Hou of St. Louis; Miles Hardingwood of New York City; and Jacqueline Flores of Fort Meade, Fla.