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.
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.
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