Saturday, November 3, 2012

Saturday Snapshot: Dr. Maya Angelou and Storytelling

Saturday Snapshot is a weekly meme hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books. The guidelines are to post a photo that you or a friend or family member have taken and then link it back to Alyce's original post for the week. Photos can be old or new and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see.

Dr. Maya Angelou made her way to our snowy city on October 28 for "An Evening with...". Her talk was part of the Unique Lives and Experiences lecture series. This was my second talk with Dr. Angelou, the first being maybe 10 years ago or so in the same location.

The stage below (I really need to get a new phone with a better camera) was a little bit odd when first entering the venue. The left side was blocked by a large curtain. The middle was set like a front porch, with Dr. Angelou's chair in front. And the right side held a piano and microphone.


I initially thought maybe there was some performance art taking place as well. This was true, to some extent, as a local singer started the evening with a couple songs. Then Dr. Angelou came out and enthralled us all for about an hour. When she came it out, it became clearer as to why the curtain and low lights - respect and grace. It was there to provide some privacy, as she required assistance from two individuals on and off the staff through the curtain.

It hit me at the end just how time may weaken the physical but not the mental. She was as acutely on point as last time, and she is just an amazing storyteller. It really is all in the narrative and how it reaches out the audience on varying emotional and psychological levels. But it takes a skilled narrator to propel the reaching out and there are not many of this calibre. I could just listen to her talk 24/7 about poetry, history, anything really.

8 comments:

  1. That must have been wonderful event!

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  2. Wow! I'd love to see her in person!

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  3. What a great opportunity to see her speak!

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  4. Lucky to hear Maya talk - not once, but twice!
    I'm sure she was inspiring.

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  5. I'd love to hear her as well...A phenomenal woman ;)

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  6. She is a person I wish I had had as a teacher or a friend. Such a powerful force in our world.

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  7. What a wonderful evening that must have been, lovely to see even a tiny bit of it.

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  8. Sounds like an amazing evening. Thanks for sharing it with us.

    Joy's Book Blog

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