Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / April 11, 2002, edition 1 / Page 11
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Writers conference brings out legends, dreamers BYFELECIAP MCMII I am ? COMMUNITY CORRESPONDENT CHAPEL HILL - Sonia Sanchez - noted poet, activist, playwright and teacher - was the keynote speaker for the George Moses Horton Society Poetry Conference at the Uni versity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Saturday. On Friday night. Houston A. Baker Jr. one of the foremost scholars of African-American literature in the world, was the featured poet for the opening night of the conference. More than 500 students and faculty members fro? various universities around the country came to the Hanes Art Center Auditorium to lis ten as Sanchez read from her various poetry collections, including "Home Coming" (1969), "We a BaddDDD Peo ple" (1970), "Homegirls & Handgrenades" (1984), "Love Poems," "Does Your House Have Lions?" and "Wounded in the House off a Friend." She has written more than a dozen books of poetry, plays and children's books. In 1977. she began teaching at Temple Uni versity in Philadelphia, where she was a Presidential Fellow and professor of English and women's studies before retir ing in 1999 Baker's most recent book of poetry is "Passing Over." The most memorable poems that Baker read, according to the students, were the ones that celebrate his wife. Char lotte's survival and recovery after rape. He describes how he was bound hand and foot while his wife was assaulted. Hopeful cadences express, "So you have come back to me. ... And I love you more than ever. I love you more, more, more...." Baker and Sanchez capti vated their audiences. Sanchez wanted the students to concen trate on the lessons she came to teach them. "Just listen. I know that you want to clap, but just lis ten. Instead, just wave your hand," Sanchez said. She often spoke with her eyes closed in meditation or rested upon the podium, intensely sharing her verse. According to the students, one of the most memorable stories Sanchez told was about an elderly woman. Rosa lcc jonnson, wno laught Sanchez never to give up on love. The woman asked Sanchez. "Has you ever loved a pretty man, girl?" Sanchez responded. "They keep their love up high in a linen closet, and I'm too short to reach it." A whir of laughter stirred the audience. Sanchez challenged the writers in the audience to fol low their calling. "If you are a writer, you are put on this earth to write....Poetry is what I love. This thing that is light and life. It tells the world that it is possible to be human." she said. Dr. Trudier Harris-Lopez, founder/president of George Moses Horton Society for the Study of African American Poetry, observed that many of the conference attendees sat in awe as Sanchez spoke. "It was an amazing read ing. Sonia Sanchez was so involved in her performance that she lost track of time. After her reading, she auto graphed books for two more hours." Harris-Lopez said. Dr. Joanne B. Gabbin of James Madison University presented a paper about Sanchez called "Coming Cor rect: the Hip-ness of Soh'ia Sanchez's Poetry." Before the poetry reading, Gabbin recog nized how much she has learned from "hariging out with Sonia Sanchez." Sanchez, told Gabbin about the passing of such cultural icons as Margaret Walker. Gwen dolyn Brooks, Etheridge Knight, Shirley Anne Williams, Audre Lorde and others. "She celebrates their lives and also celebrates their tran sition." Gabbin said. "Hang ing out with Sonia Sanchez will teach you a lot about being generous. She puts her bread on the water, and it / comes back." Because Sanchez tends to intensify her adjectives by using adverbs. Gabbin intro duced Sanchez as the "beauti fully beautiful, the spiritually spiritual, the powerfully pow erful. amazingly amazing Sonia Sanchez." Sanchez thanked all of the organizers of the conference for inviting her to address the conference. She encouraged the young writers "to learn about what Baraka. Neal, and Toure attempted to do. They challenged this country. This country tried to eliminate them." As she read "A Poem for My Father," she expressed a tone of disappointment about his "makeshift manhood." When she read a s'election from "A Blues Book for Blue Black Magical Women." she noted, "There is no place for a soft black woman." Sanchez explained the source of the title "Homegirls and Handgrenades." During an interview with a journalist. Sanchez. clarified that although she is a world travel er. she is "still a homegirl from Harlem." and she has "dropped some hand grenades around the world." She said. "I try to explode the myths that have been dropped about black people." baker culminated the poet ry reading of several student and professional poets. Christ ian Campbell. Herptine Pin son. R. Flowers Rivera and Evie Shockley participated in the poetry reading on Friday. Baker dedicated many of his poems to his family mem bers. His verse called "This Is Not a Poem" celebrates his grandmother's hands and his grandfather's difficulty during the Depression. He also read from "Blues Journeys Home," a poem about "socializing roots" that reveals his wife's hidden knowledge of agricul ture and planting seasons. He dedicated a poem to Naomi Long Madgett's Lotus Press and Dudley Randall's Broad side Press for helping African Americans get published. His "Double Bass Varia tions" describes a loving encounter, while his poem about Lady Day questions what has happened to the woman who once held her head so high. The George Moses Horton Society for the Study of African American Poetry was founded by Dr. Trudier Harris-Lopez, J. Car lyle Sitterson professor of English in 1996. It is named in honor of an enslaved poet in the Chatham County/Chapel Hill areas from his birth in the late 18th century until well after emancipation. To learn more, visit www.unc.edu/cam pus/sigs/Horton. Well-known poet Lucille Clifton greets Sonia Sanchez (right), poet and activist. PhiMoi b> I elecia P. McMillan Noted illustrator Ashley Bryan talks with Carole Boston Weatherford about some of her lat est books. One Corporate Office, Twenty Four Hotels and 1 1,000 People Have Something to Say BUFFALO, NY "It would be my pleasure to serve you." CLEARWATER BEACH. FL "Good isn't good enough." COLUMBUS, OH "Hip will make it right for you." DENVER, CO "Satisfaction is a promise kept." f INDIANAPOLIS, IN AIRPORT "Thank you for choosing us." KANSAS CITY, MO "Ht value your experience." ORLANDO, FL "Making you feel at home " V is our incentive." ST. LOUIS. MO "Please come again." CHARLOTTE, NC '"Before you need it - we are there." COLORADO SPRINGS. CO "Our reward is in your smile." DALLAS. TX "Earning your business is my joi keeping it is my duty." 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Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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April 11, 2002, edition 1
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