South Carolina Poet Laureate Denied Reading at Inauguration

This in yesterday from NPR: South Carolina's Poet Laureate, Marjory Wentworth, has read poems at the last three governor's inaugural ceremonies. This year, "she says she was moved watching the protests across the country ignited by the deaths of unarmed black men. She wanted to incorporate some of that subject matter into her writing." South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and state officials have cut the poem this year, claiming there's not enough time. More:

Gov. Haley's spokeswoman Chaney Adams said in a statement, "While we appreciate Ms. Wentworth's long service to South Carolina, the inaugural committee told her the 96th S.C. inaugural program - which, in part, celebrates our state's rich culture - has been full for weeks, and scheduling constraints simply wouldn't allow a poem to be read."

Wentworth says she's disappointed.

"I really believe that our history is part of what's holding us back as kind of an unhealed wound and we're all in this together" Wentworth says. "And I know that sounds a little like John Lennon, but I wanted people to think about some of those things.

In the meantime, officials with the state chapter of the NAACP are holding a Martin Luther King march on Monday. They told Wentworth she is welcome to read her poem to their group. Wentworth says she wouldn't miss it.

Read the full report, with poem excerpts, at NPR.