Maya Angelou Sings

Last Wednesday, I joined two friends from my teenage years for a special occasion. First we met for salads at the delicious eatery, Pizzacato, then crossed the bridge into downtown Portland for an evening at the Schnitzer Concert Hall. There we were, along with 2500 or so others, waiting for the wise words of the "global renaissance woman," and Pulitzer prize nominee, who is

Maya Angelou.

As the Schnitzer curtains opened, an urgent hush fell over the audience. It's not every day that one can hear first-hand the words of such an experienced and accomplished woman. She stood standing as the claps creshendoed, plateaued, and then calmed.
Then,

she spoke poetry.

It's as though her words traveled down from the stage and up the balcony into my life, and it's as if I'd seen those very things she spoke of with my very own eyes,

because the poetry of

Maya Angelou

inspires such soul movement.

"This little light of mine...

I'm gunna let it shine..."

she sang unexpectedly.

Then she began to unfold stories of truth, promise and inspiration;

stories of her Uncle Willie, "black, poor, crippled," who had lived in such a way that even white men were encouraged by his words and had gone from being poor wee-ones in North Carolina, into the political world.

"How dare we not realize the power each one of us has?"

"How dare we say, I cannot be a light for you?"

"This little light of mine...

I'm gunna let it shine..."

she sang again, with the final word trailing.

Interwoven throughout her lesson on the power and the inspiration that each one of us withholds, whether we realize or not, were more gems of wisdom.

"Go to poetry,"

she said.

"It has saved my life.

We look to laptops and the Internet. What if they go down?"

She referenced Paul Laurence Dunbar's poem "Sympathy,"

and Daisy Bates as, "an American treasure."

She mentioned her Inaugural poem for President Clinton.

"Courage," she says,

"is the most important of the virtues.

Without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently."

"This little light of mine,

I'm gunna let it shine..."

She closed with these encouraging words~

"If you are asked to do something good--always say yes.

Then pray."

"This little light of mine,

I'm gunna let it shine.

This little light of mine,

I'm gunna let it shine.

This little light of mine,

I'm gunna let it shine.

Let it shine,

let it shine,

let it shine..."

Applause and a standing ovation followed,

and then the curtain closed.

Because she's an American legend, and because

I, too, believe poetry can save lives,

I am giving away
Phenomenal Woman: Four Poems Celebrating Women

by Maya Angelou.

GIVEAWAY CLOSED.

To enter this giveaway you can do any of these things (in separate comments):

1) Tell me of he or she who has been a "little light" in your life and why in a comment.

2) Share with me your mantra or a favorite quote in a comment.

3) Blog about this giveaway on your blog and comment below.

4) Become a follower if you haven't already and comment below.

Good luck! I can't wait to read your comments!

Giveaway closes Friday, June 11, at 12pm.

Winner announced shortly after.

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