The President and First Lady kick off an evening of poetry, music, and the spoken word at the White House.

The First Lady welcomes the first act in an evening of poetry, music and spoken word at the White House. Pianist ELEW and bassist/singer Esperanza Spalding kick off the evening with an instrumental jazz fusion performance. Enjoy!

Mayda del Valle, a poet whose work has helped to raise the bar in poetry circles all over the world, performs her piece "a faith like yours" at the White House Evening of Poetry, Music, and the Spoken Word.

Academy Award winning actor James Earl Jones performs a passage from Shakespeare's Othello at the White House Evening of Poetry, Music, and the Spoken Word.

Writer Ayelet Waldman and her Pulitzer Prize-winning husband Michael Chabon share their White House Talk at the White House Evening of Poetry, Music, and the Spoken Word.

Esperanza Spalding, the first jazz musician to ever win a Grammy award, covers Lauryn Hill's song “Tell Him.” The song is loosely inspired by the famous Bible passage about "faith, hope, and love" from First Corinthians chapter 13.

Poet, activist, and scholar Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio recites a poem about remembering her cultural roots by honoring her family and recalling their Hawaiian names. The last part of the poem is spoken in Hawaiian.

Brave New Voices slam champion Joshua Bennett performs “Tamaraʼs Opus” at the White House Evening of Poetry, Music, and the Spoken Word.

Writer and star of the Broadway musical In the Heights, Lin-Manuel Miranda performs "The Hamilton Mixtape" at the White House Evening of Poetry, Music, and the Spoken Word. Accompanied by Alex Lacamoire.