NO writers share
MAY 1, 1998 - WCC CAMPUS VOICE 3
diverse cultures
Panelists included Lenard Moore, Fe Finch,
Angela Aguigui, Dr. David Rigsby, and Marijo Moore
By TOMIKA KORNEGAY
On Tuesday, March
10, and Wednesday,
March 11, Wayne
Community College
celebrated cultural
diversity by
highlighting North
Carolina writers.
Marijo Moore and
Lenard D. Moore read
from their works on
Tuesday night at 7:30
p.m. in the Lecture
Hall.
Mr. Moore read
poetry from his book
"Forever Home." He read
some of his haikus
about Desert Storm and
the Million Man March.
Mr. Moore, who holds
an M.A. in African
American Literature
from NC State A&T, read
some of his blues and
jazz poems. He said he
writes rap poems as
well.
Moore explained that
many of his works are
influenced by the bad
times black people have
experienced.
Marijo Moore, writer
and poet, also read
from her works.
Moore is the founder
and publisher of the
Renegade Press which
specializes in the
publication of native
American Indian
writing.
Her family were the
only full-blooded
Cherokees in Western
Tennessee in a small
town called Crockett
Mills.
When Margaret
Baddour, Humanities
instructor and
organizer of the event,
introduced Moore, she
called her "a mistress
of dreams."
Marijo Moore said
during her presentation
that she believes in
the power of dreams and
in the healing power of
words.
Gerald Simmons
moderated the panel on
Wednesday.
Moore was visited by
grandfather in her
dreams. These dreams
inspired her to write
about her Indian
heritage.
She worked with
Indian children and
then the dreams
appeared again. She
read from her book of
poems, "Spirit Voices
of Bones."
Marijo Moore also
talked about the women
in her tribe. These
women were highly
respected. If they were
to be killed, 2 people
would be killed from
the murderer's family.
On Wednesday, March
11, at 11:00 a.m.,
Lenard Moore read his
works from "Homeplace."
This poem is about his
childhood experiences
and memories.
On Wednesday at 11
a.m., Marijo Moore and
Lenard Moore were
accompanied by 3 other
writers—Fe Finc^h, a
Spanish teacher at WCC;
Angela Aguigui, a
college transfer
student at WCC; and Dr.
David Rigsby, head of
the English department
at Mt. Olive College.
Fe Finch, a native
of Cuba, came to the
United States at age 6.
Finch's parents
fought in the
revolution with Castro,
but they were forced to
leave Cuba because they
refused to join the
communists.
Dr. Edward H. Wilson Jr.,
WCC's President welcomes
Marijo Moore.
Finch shared
lithographs on display
that her daughter had
drawn.
The lithographs
reflect the experiences
of her parents and
grandparents.
The first piece of
art depicted the
Spanish and American
flags. She explained
the 4 colors in both of
the flags.
Red, a symbol of
blood, represents the
people who died in the
revolution.
She said white is a
symbol of the cross
meaning purity. Blue is
a color of the American
flag and black is a
color of the Cuban
flag.
Another speaker was
Angela Aguigui, a
native of Guam and
student at WCC who read
an original essay
entitled "Metaphor."
She moved to NC when
she entered the fourth
grade.
Also on the panel
was Dr. David Rigsby,
graduate of UNC-Chapel
Hill.
Dr. Rigsby read from
his book "Trailers."
He raised the
question: why are
trailers taking over
the landscape and why
do we have so many?
He said the book
combined memoir and
theory as it depicted
photographs of mobile
homes, seeing the
trailer as a hermitage.
Dr. Rigsby said that
modern society does not
respect tradition,
claiming that modern
society honors space,
not time.
He sees trailers as
a more American house
than any other kind.
Lenard Moore, right foreground, and Marijo Moore sign
copies of their books for students and guests.
PHOTOS: TOIMOKA KORNEGAT