In honor of Riverfest, happening today, Sunday, July 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., I was delighted to find this quote from President John F. Kennedy.

Learning from last week, when a quote attributed to Thomas Jefferson was actually not said by him, I checked out the quote about art that I found that I thought would be timely.

And yep, Kennedy did actually utter those words in a speech at Amherst College on October 26, 1963. (The complete transcript and a recording of the speech is found here. 

He starts out with these words: "Our national strength matters, but the spirit which informs and controls our strength matters just as much. This was the special significance of Robert Frost. He brought an unsparing instinct for reality to bear on the platitudes and pieties of society. His sense of the human tragedy fortified him against self-deception and easy consolation. "

Check it out — it's quite inspiring.

As we enjoy the amazing abundance of art in our valley, let us rejoice that there are many among us interpreting their and our experience through the muse.