A
s the old vaudeville joke goes, "How do you get to
Carnegie Hall?" Answer: "Practice, practice, practice."
And "practice" is exactly what Justice John
Charles Tomas has accomplished. Since age
four, he has been reciting poetry. It was not uncommon for
the youngster to be called to the family's side porch to regale
friends of his grandfather with classics like William Cullen
Bryant's "Tanatopsis."
Tomas will be reciting original and classic poems in "Te
Allure of the Muse" at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
on Feb. 23. Te program, sponsored by the Muscarelle Museum
of Art at the College of William & Mary, celebrates and explores
the relationship of poetry and music in inspiring each art to
higher level. Professors in the music department at William &
Mary will accompany Tomas playing original music by Sophia
Serghi and other original compositions designed to accentuate
the art and power of his spoken word.
Tomas, a senior partner at Hunton & Williams, is a retired
Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia, where he was the frst
African-American and the youngest person appointed, taking
the bench at age 32.
"Oddly, when I handed down my very frst opinion as a
Justice, … one of the news stories on that opinion talked about
the poetry of the way I had written it. I was startled to see
that comment. But then, on refection, it occurred to me that
perhaps poetry really is everywhere in our lives – if we know how
to look for it." n
Justice John Charles Thomas will recite poems to piano
accompaniment at New York's Carnegie Hall on Feb. 23.
For tickets and availability, contact the Carnegie Hall Ticket Ofce
http://www.carnegiehall.org/Events or (212) 247-7800.
36 • VBA JOURNAL
36 • VBA JOURNAL