Great Regulars: By going back and reading closely these

thirteen books, and looking at them as a sequence, I started to find certain themes running through them. And in effect I think I kind of located something of the American character here, the DNA that's really at the basis of what it means to be an American.

from Jay Parini: On Point with Tom Ashbrook: Books that Changed America

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In a sense, the Obama team remains pitch-perfect here. The choice of [Elizabeth] Alexander to read is brilliant. She represents black American culture, but she says to the audience: "We're here, and we're very smart and well-educated, fully aware of western European culture in all its complexity; yet we retain an allegiance to our own past, our roots, our needs, our vision."

from Jay Parini: The Guardian: Books Blog: Why Obama chose Elizabeth Alexander for his inauguration

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