WEBVTT

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And it's my pleasure
to introduce

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someone who's probably
very well known to you--

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cartoonist, a political
satirist, a humorist, and you

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see him in the Arizona Daily
Star on a regular basis.

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He's one of those people who--

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we don't know if the
pen is able to defeat

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the sword on all occasions,
but David Fitzsimmons

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is someone who gave us the pen
a fighting chance to do that.

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So please welcome him.

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[APPLAUSE]

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Billy Collins said my name.

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It is impressive to
contemplate the Poetry

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Center came to be 50 years ago.

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I was four years old.

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50 years ago-- this will
give you perspective.

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50 years ago, the
road construction

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on Ina and La Cañada began.

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So glad to see so many of you
here in support of the Poetry

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Center in these
times when there's

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so much suffering due to cuts.

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And you may have
noticed this morning,

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Sentinel Peak now
has a lowercase A.

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A good poem, by my
standards, burrows

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into a moment or an idea.

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It stirs the cranial
soil and lodges

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in the heart like an
unforgettable symphony

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or a striking
painting or a cartoon.

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Poetry, for me personally,
is transporting.

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It's a form of escape.

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It has enabled me to escape
and oncologists waiting room.

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It is true.

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It has enabled me to
escape mourning the loss

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of a romance or, even more
tragic, an election outcome.

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I want to read a poem.

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