LoC Blog: Kennedy’s Inauguration

On January 20, 1961, John F. Kennedy distinguished his inaugural ceremony with a poetry reading by fellow New Englander Robert Frost. Blinded by the sun’s glare on the snow-covered Capitol grounds, Frost found himself unable to read the poem he had prepared. Instead, he recited The Gift Outright from memory, his words moving many. Dedication, the poem Frost intended to read at the Kennedy inauguration, is included in the digital collections from the Library’s Manuscript Division. The Gift Outright can be found in the Imagination section of the Library’s American Treasures exhibition.

Such as we were we gave ourselves outright

“The Gift Outright.” Robert Frost.

“Dedication.” Robert Frost’s presidential inaugural poem, January 20, 1961. Stewart L. Udall Collection. Manuscript Division

“The Gift Outright.” Poem recited by Robert Frost at the January 1961 inauguration of John F. Kennedy. Imagination Gallery B. American Treasures of the Library of Congress. Manuscript Division

Robert Frost [left] and Carl Sandburg in the Library’s Whittall Pavilion, Washington, DC, May 2, 1960. Library of Congress Poetry and Literature Center

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

Inaugural Address External, John F. Kennedy, Friday, January 20, 1961. The American Presidency Project

via https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/january-20#kennedys-inauguration