Serenaded by a single voice, two elderly women sat in wheelchairs on stage before a crowd at Virginia Tech University. As Lisa Winn sang “Still I Rise,” one of the women, Maya Angelou, reached out to catch hold of the hand of her companion, Toni Morrison.
The moment represented the culmination of many tumultuous years, not just for Angelou and Morrison, but the African-American community at large. The pair was being honored with the Furious Flower Poetry Center Lifetime Achievement Award at Virginia Tech on Oct. 16, 2012.
Thinking back on that moment, Dr. Joanne Gabbin of James Madison University, founder and director of the Furious Flower Poetry Center, says she is grateful that she had the “wisdom and foresight” to honor Angelou before her passing last month.
Angelou’s death shook the community, but also is a reminder that her powerful voice was one of many. Though she was arguably one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, her work has been taken up by a new generation.
The Furious Flower Poetry Center will host its third decennial conference to answer the question of what the future holds for Black poetic expression at James Madison University, Sept. 24-27. The conference, “Seeding the Future of African American Poetry,” will examine the future, as well as its global influence and reception, of African-American poetry.
Some 40 poets from across the United States, Africa, Europe and the Caribbean will visit JMU, in addition to hundreds of conference attendees. The conference will honor Rita Dove, Toi Derricotte, Michael Harper, Yusef Komunyakaa, Marilyn Nelson, Ishmael Reed and Quincy Troupe.
“It is the largest, and possibly the only, gathering solely devoted to African-American poets in the world.” said Gabbin.
