Lew’s post about the poet Sharon Olds is interesting, and one wishes that this would occur on a regular basis. Now, my guess is that Olds, if she is like most literary people in this country, is politically on the left, so turning down an invitation to the White House most likely costs her nothing, and probably increases her stature with her peers. As I was re-reading Jim Bovard’s book “Feeling Your Pain,” which documents the many abuses of the Clinton Administration, I wonder how many literary people refused to visit the Clinton White House when he was setting the … Continue reading Saying “No” to the White House