4/5/2001
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Maya Angelou, one of the great voices of contemporary literature, will share words of inspiration and strength during her visit to the Michigan State University campus Wednesday, April 18.
Angelou, only the second poet in U.S. history to have the honor of writing and reciting original work at a presidential inauguration, will speak at 7:30 p.m. at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center.
"An Evening with Maya Angelou" is among activities organized by the Women's Council at MSU as part of Women's Empowerment Week.
"Maya Angelou is not only a strong woman, she's a humanitarian, a poet, and a woman who embodies the strength and spirit of women everywhere," said Erika Nuerenberg, a senior from Grand Rapids and co-chairperson of the event. "The ASMSU/ Women's Council wanted to reach out to all persons as a sign that this event is for everyone in the community."
Tickets for Angelou's visit are $5 for students with student identification and $10 for all non-students. Group ticket sales are also available. The school group rate is $5 per ticket, and for non-student groups of 20 or persons, the rate is $8.Tickets for the event go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday, April 9, at the Breslin Center. For tickets call the Breslin Center Box Office at (517) 432-5000, or 1-800-968-BRES.
Sponsors of the event are Associated Students of Michigan State University (ASMSU)/Women's Council, the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs and Services, the Office of the Provost and the Department of Student Life.
For more information contact Erika Nuerenberg, ASMSU/Women's Council co-chairperson, at (517) 332-5502; Melanie Olmsted, ASMSU/Women's Council co-chairperson, at 324-3289; or Cathy Neuman, Department of Student Life, at 355-8286.
Biographical information on Maya Angelou follows:
MAYA ANGELOU Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson on April 4, 1928, at St. Louis, Mo. She attended public school in Stamps, Ark. and San Francisco, Calif. She studied drama and dance, and in 1952 received a scholarship to study dance with Pearl Primus in New York. She later joined the 22-country European tour of "Porgy and Bess."
She married a South African freedom fighter and moved to Cairo and then Ghana, and became the first woman editor of Cairo's "The Arab Observer," the only English-language news weekly in the Middle East. She also worked at "The African Review" and taught at the University of Ghana. In 1981 she was appointed to a lifetime position as the first Reynolds Professor for American Studies at Wake Forest University.
In the 1960s, at the request of Martin Luther King Jr., Angelou became the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. She was appointed by President Gerald Ford to the Bicentennial Commission and President Jimmy Carter named her to the National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year. In 1996 she was named UNICEF's National Ambassador.
Angelou is the author of 11 best-selling books, including "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," for which she received a National book Award nomination and "Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Die," for which she received a Pulitzer Prize nomination. Her current best seller is "Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now."
Her screenplay, "Georgia, Georgia," was the first original script by an African-American woman to be produced. As a writer-producer for 20th Century Fox TV, Angelou 's film "Sisters, Sisters," became the company's first full-length film. She most recently played a role in Universal Pictures' "How to Make An American Quilt." She received an Emmy nomination for her supporting role in "Roots" and the Golden Eagle Award for her PBS special "Afro-American in the Arts."
In January 1993, she became the second poet in U.S. history to have the honor of writing and reciting original work at a presidential inauguration. Her poem for Bill Clinton's inauguration was titled "On the Pulse of Morning," for which she was awarded a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word.