— “The Purpose of Poetry”, a speech by John F. Kennedy honoring the late poet Robert Frost at Amherst College in Massachusetts, October 26, 1963
"When power corrupts, poetry cleanses, for art establishes the basic human truths which must serve as the touchstones of our judgment. The artist, however faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an officious state."




