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  • (applause)

  • The President: Thank you.

  • Thank you, everybody.

  • Thank you so much.

  • Please, everybody be seated.

  • It is a great pleasure to welcome all of you to the White

  • House for an evening of music and poetry and spoken word --

  • (cheering and applause)

  • -- from some of our nation's most gifted performers,

  • both distinguished veterans and up and coming young talents.

  • Now, we're here tonight not just to enjoy the works of these

  • artists, but also to highlight the importance of the arts in

  • our life and in our nation and our nation's history.

  • We're here to celebrate the power of words and music to help

  • us appreciate beauty, but also to understand pain;

  • to inspire us to action and to spur us on when we start to lose

  • hope; to lift us up out of our daily existence,

  • even if it's just for a few moments, and return us with

  • hearts that are a little bit bigger and fuller than they were before.

  • The great jazz musician Louis Armstrong once said simply,

  • "What we play is life."

  • "What we play is life."

  • And that is what these artists do - they express the joys and

  • hardships of life and remind us how much all of us have in common.

  • It's a great gift and a great responsibility and we're honored

  • to host them here at the White House tonight.

  • I now have the privilege of introducing the star of the

  • show, somebody who brings a lot of poetry to my own life,

  • the First Lady, Michelle Obama.

  • (cheering and applause)

  • The First Lady: Good evening.

  • And again, welcome to the White House.

  • We are so pleased to be hosting an evening of poetry, music,

  • and spoken word.

  • See, you just want to clap just saying that, right?

  • (applause)

  • Tonight's event is really just another way for us to open up

  • the White House and once again make it the "People's House;"

  • to invite people from all different backgrounds to come

  • and share their stories and speak their minds;

  • for all of us to learn about different forms of communication

  • and to be open to hearing other people's voices, for it is one

  • thing for people to tell their stories in their own spaces and

  • quite another for those stories to be welcomed in this space.

  • Barack is President today because many people who thought

  • their voices didn't matter, or wouldn't be heard,

  • decided to show up on election day and vote anyway.

  • And that's the beauty --

  • (applause)

  • And that is the beauty of our democracy and we have to

  • remember that democracy is really, really big.

  • It has room for lots of voices which at some times take us out

  • of our comfort zones.

  • But that's what makes it so meaningful.

  • And that's one of the reasons why I am so excited about tonight.

  • Let me tell you, I have wanted to do this from day one.

  • The notion of standing in this room and hearing some poetry and

  • spoken word.

  • (cheering and applause)

  • But it's important for us to remember that this White House

  • is committed to maintaining this openness and making this place a

  • place where all voices can be heard.

  • And the President and I are so proud to welcome this group of

  • talented performers and we're just excited to welcome this

  • audience here tonight.

  • So, please enjoy, have fun, be loose --

  • (laughter)

  • -- and let's start the show.

  • Thank you.

  • (applause)

  • ♪♪

  • (applause)

(applause)

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