Maya Angelou graces campus

Maya Angelou: Poet, Scholar, Activist

Literary figure speaks to sold out crowd, praises poetic art form

Words by Tabitha Dial
Photos by Kristin Skvorc
he Metropolitan

Born April 4, 1928 as Marguerite Johnson, Dr. Maya Angelou has become a leading voice of feminism, equality and love.

"The honorary duty of a human being is to love," said Angelou. Her works are a testament to her saying.

She has been a historian, an editor, a producer, a playwright, a civil-rights activist, a director, a poet and a streetcar conductor.

She read her poem, "On the Pulse of Morning," for President Clinton's inauguration in 1993.

Martin Luther King, Jr. requested that Angelou become the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in the 1960s.

President Gerald Ford appointed her to the Bicentennial Commission.

President Jimmy Carter appointed her to the National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year.

Angelou has been nominated for the National Book Award, the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony award.

Angelou's life has been a struggle. She was sexually assaulted when she was 8. Her assaulter was murdered and she refused to speak to anyone except her brother. She began speaking again after four years of silence.

She continues speaking today, lecturing throughout the United States and abroad. She is known for her gift of words.

For Maya Angelou, it was the sonnets of Shakespeare that first revealed poetry's power to break the boundaries of time, place, and culture.

"When I read (his twenty-ninth sonnet), I thought Shakespeare was a black girl," Angelou told a sold-out crowd at the Auraria Events Center on Thursday, April 28. "How else could he know how I felt?"

The world-renowned literary figure emphasized the power of poetry to stoke courage and inspire personal growth. When pop culture is so ubiquitous and easy to access that it's become a reflex for most, why take the time to find and read poetry? "You need to know someone was there before you," Angelou said. She explained that she wanted the audience to recognize how miraculous it is that survivors of the past have created poetry, created light, for all of us. Romantic poetry is meant to keep us alive, Angelou said.

Angelou's 77 years of passion for language (she has taught in French, Spanish, Italian, West African Fanti and English) and humanity have given her the insight that courage is a prerequisite for the practice of all other virtues. She called it, "the engine allowing us to dare to touch each other."

The social activist also took the opportunity to criticize trends in current popular culture. Angelou observed that in our culture, no one is told that they are just the way they are supposed to be. She lamented that someone may possess the most virtuous and inviting attitude, profound smarts, and may even redefine something as simple as the walk from point A to point B, but they will still be told that their hair is not styled "correctly." There is always something that can be improved, according to the often harsh voice of American culture.

In an effort to remedy such cultural criticism and encourage self-confidence, Angelou recommended that everyone present research African-American poetry from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

She used excerpts from the poetry of Paul Lawrence Dunbar from 1894 to illustrate the theme of one person being adored for their natural and innate beauty. Angelou recited a poem she said could have been written last week, citing Queen Latifah as an artist who could have easily adopted the lyrics as her own. "Jump back, honey; jump back," was the refrain.

UCD professor Jake York commented on the worth of Angelou's visit and the inherent value of poetry, which is in itself a form of courage. "Its medium is language -a medium that's free, easily accessible, and already mastered by many of us ... (It) shows us that we are already close to sources of power, that we have within us what we need in order to deal."

Recognizing poetry also means recognizing one's ability to realize their own courage, Angelou said. Regardless of who wrote it or when, it allows the reader to become a light to others. "Be sure to use poetry," she insisted, "so that you will steady yourself. It was written for you."

Without the redeeming power of poetry to guide her, Angelou said, she would have been "just one more abused, neglected black barefoot girl in the dirt of the times."

By telling the story of how she returned to her home state of Arkansas for her uncle's funeral, Angelou shared the revelation of becoming a light to others. During the visit to Arkansas, one man approached her, assuring her that he would not have reached his goals without the influence of her uncle.

He was the mayor of Little Rock.

Her uncle had been one of the lights that had guided her toward her own successes as poet, historian, actress, playwright, civil rights activist, producer, director, and author. Angelou told the audience that she had just earned her fifty-fifth doctorate, her means of showing the power of light.

It is those people who have shed their light on Angelou's life that have made her the woman she is today. From her family to the poets that inspired her, Angelou's inspirations came from every place and time. Her story encouraged others to search for overlooked sources of enrichment. Once you see me, see yourself, is part of the message Angelou shared. She wants everyone to see their own potential.

In addition to the universal themes in her lecture, Angelou made an effort to localize the message. She referred to the Auraria Campus as a figurative light that allows its students to act as inspirations for others.

Being on Auraria Campus afforded Angelou the opportunity to meet people with "all the names that the planet seems to have." She was excited to share her enthusiasm for the courage and light she found in everyone she met backstage before she spoke.

"We have great riches in Denver, but they often lie unrecognized and unmined," said York. "I hope Dr. Angelou's visit puts the gold in our eyes and makes our inner argonauts go looking for those nuggets that abound around us."

Inspiration via verse is not limited to library locations.

"Poetry lies in veins beneath our feet, rich and pure, ready to be mined, if only we will stop to listen," York said.

For those interested in exploring Denver's poetic culture, York suggested checking out the listings at www.denverpoetry.org, a calendar service. Also look at local journals such as Copper Nickel, Denver Quarterly, Matter and Divide.

"And keep an eye on-and keep asking for -more events of this caliber," York said.