Few buying Obama inaugural poem

NEW YORK -- Millions watched Elizabeth Alexander read a poem last month at President Obama's inauguration. But few, so far, have chosen to buy it.

Nielsen BookScan, which tracks about 75 percent of sales, says Alexander's "Praise Song for the Day: A Poem for Barack Obama's Presidential Inauguration" has sold just 6,000 copies so far.

The poem was published Feb. 6 as a paperback by Graywolf Press with an announced first printing of 100,000 copies. The inaugural reading by Alexander apparently lacked the appeal of predecessor Maya Angelou, whose "On the Pulse of the Morning" -- read at President Clinton's 1993 inaugural -- sold a million copies.

Graywolf spokeswoman Mary Matze said the publisher was pleased with sales for Alexander's poem. She said Friday that response has been strong "given the state of the economy."

"We're encouraged by these numbers and we're expecting sales to climb steadily," Matze said.

As of Friday afternoon, "Praise Song" was ranked No. 8,863 on Amazon.com and No. 9,597 on Barnes & Noble.com.

Alexander was just the fourth inaugural poet, following Robert Frost, Angelou and Miller Williams.