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Crush a Coal Poem, Make a Diamond

Grace Pitt, 17, was selected to read a poem at West Virginia’s annual Poetry Out Loud award ceremony. “Since the Governor’s Arts Awards seems to be all about honoring West Virginia art and artists,” Pritt decided to recite a Crystal Good poem to honor coal miners’ widows. “To me, ‘Black Diamonds’ is a real and very West Virginian poem.” Tabitha Walter, grant coordinator for the state Division of Culture and History, didn’t like that idea. “I really hate to do this to you, but because your poem deals with coal and many state representatives will be there,” she e-mailed, “our director wants you to choose a different poem. When news of the censorship went viral the state reversed its position, and State Education and the Arts Secretary Kay Goodwin is investigating. “I was upset about it too,” Goodwin said. “That’s not the way we do things. We’re not in the business of judging the content of any participant in any artistic endeavor. The young lady will be reading whatever she wishes to read, and we’re happy to have her do that.” (MS/West Virginia Gazette) ...The First Amendment protects politically unpopular speech, but sometimes you still have to fight for that right.