TIME: Barbara Kingsolver's 2008 Commencement Speech at Duke Top Ten of ALL TIME

[Bluedog]

Barbara Kingsolver's 2008 Commencement Speech at Duke was ranked as the ninth best anywhere of all time by Time magazine.

Anybody else go to this? I thought she was TERRIBLE. I've been to three Duke commencements, and she was by far the worst. Shocking beyond belief.

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1898670_1898671_1898665,00.html

1. David Foster Wallace, Kenyon, 2005
2. Steve Jobs, Stanford, 2005
3. Conan O'Brien, Harvard (Class Day), 2000
4. Russell Baker, Connecticut College, 1995
5. Winston Churchill, Harrow School, 1941
6. George Marshall, Harvard, 1947
7. John F. Kennedy, American University, 1963
8. Bradley Whitford, Wisconsin, 2006
9. Barbara Kingsolver, Duke, 2008
10. Stephen Colbert, Knox College, 2006

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1898670,00.html#ixzz18CHIVJgB

In any event, I thought it was interesting/humorous.

[hurleyfor3]

I think this has a lot to do -- correction, EVERYTHING to do -- with the extent your sociopolitical worldview lines up with the speaker's. That's another way of saying we're skirting PPB territory here.

The best commencement speech ever was the one Kurt Vonnegut didn't give at MIT.

(Check it out, I used "sociopolitical worldview" in a sentence and I was Engineering.)

[Bluedog]

I think this has a lot to do -- correction, EVERYTHING to do -- with the extent your sociopolitical worldview lines up with the speaker's. That's another way of saying we're skirting PPB territory here.

(Check it out, I used "sociopolitical worldview" in a sentence and I was Engineering.)

I actually hold the same sociopolitical viewpoints as Kingsolver when it comes to climate change (the bulk of her speech) and I still thought she was terrible. And yeah, obviously I don't want to get into PPB territory, so I won't get into the details. I just thought the structure and delivery of the speech was not very intriguing and put me to sleep...also the 40 degree rainy weather didn't help. In any event, I saw one of the top ten commencement speeches of all time! ;)


The best commencement speech ever was the one Kurt Vonnegut didn't give at MIT.

I think it's actually the one Madeleine Albright didn't give at Duke. :) Nan had to then give it. I don't recall why exactly she didn't make it to Duke.

[blazindw]

I actually hold the same sociopolitical viewpoints as Kingsolver when it comes to climate change (the bulk of her speech) and I still thought she was terrible. And yeah, obviously I don't want to get into PPB territory, so I won't get into the details. I just thought the structure and delivery of the speech was not very intriguing and put me to sleep...also the 40 degree rainy weather didn't help. In any event, I saw one of the top ten commencement speeches of all time! ;)



I think it's actually the one Madeleine Albright didn't give at Duke. :) Nan had to then give it. I don't recall why exactly she didn't make it to Duke.

Actually, Madeline Albright did speak in '04 (my graduation). Very good speech too. The one Nan read excerpts from was Kofi Annan's in '03, who couldn't attend due to laryngitis.

[Bluedog]

Actually, Madeline Albright did speak in '04 (my graduation). Very good speech too. The one Nan read excerpts from was Kofi Annan's in '03, who couldn't attend due to laryngitis.

Oops, sorry. Got my years confused. Yeah, it was Kofi Annan...My mistake.

[cato]

3. Conan O'Brien, Harvard (Class Day), 2000


I didn't see this one, but did read the text. It gets my vote as the clear winner.

[NovaScotian]

i'll be real with you guys, that was the year i graduated, and it was seriously one of the worst days of my entire life - not only was i leaving dear old duke, but all the grads had to sit in the pouring rain all day (only to clear up after the ceremony). i read the speech about a year later and thought it was quite special but for really real there was no way anybody was paying attention when it was given.

[Wander]

I actually hold the same sociopolitical viewpoints as Kingsolver when it comes to climate change (the bulk of her speech) and I still thought she was terrible.

Yeah, the whole time I was thinking "OK, I might agree with you, but what does this have to do with graduating?" It was an absolutely awful speech.