On January 20 of this year, Elizabeth Alexander became the fourth inaugural poet in US history. Before a crowd of 1.8 million people, as estimated by the Washington Post, and in front of newly inaugurated President Barack Obama and his family, Alexander read her poem, “Praise Song for the Day,” written for the occasion. Alexander was born in New York City and raised in Washington, DC. She holds degrees from Yale University and Boston University and received a PhD in English from the University of Pennsylvania. A scholar of African-American literature and culture at Yale University, Alexander writes, in addition to her poetry, essays and dramatic works. The inaugural reading situates Alexander in the company of Robert Frost (John F. Kennedy), Maya Angelou (William Clinton), and Miller Williams (William Clinton).