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| Photo courtesy of the Maya Angelo website. |
My Morning with Maya
Nervous and expectant, I stood outside the John F.
Kennedy Presidential Library in the rain waiting for Maya Angelou’s car to
arrive. I had been corresponding by mail and phone with Professor Angelou’s
assistant for months making sure everything
was in order for this speaking engagement. Ms. Angelou would need a private
room with fresh fruit and bottled still water where she could wait alone before
she spoke, and retreat to later, for there was to be no interaction with the
audience before or after her speech. Each week’s phone call with Professor
Angelou’s assistant outlined new criteria and demands for the visit. I had
begun wondering, and worrying, that one of my life heroes was a high
maintenance prima donna.
—Later, I was to learn why her assistant had wanted
a private room for her after her speech. The crowd that gathered in the lobby,
awaiting her after her presentation, was like my Uncle Mike who when overjoyed,
grabbed you, crushing you in a huge bear hug, completely unaware that his
embrace was so tight you couldn’t breath. I had grown up around a lot of
politicians and was used to crowds, but I had never seen anything like this. I
knew I had to get Dr. Angelou out to her car fast. I nabbed my friend and
assistant Sally Truslow and told Ms. Angelou I wanted to get her to her car
swiftly and safely. She was trembling, the emotion from the crowd was that
intense. Sally and I put one arm around each side of her, a wonderful security
guard held an umbrella aloft, and we pushed through the crowd out to the car
for her get-a-away. It was my first experience with crowd crush, I gained a
whole new respect for those who work to protect notable people and
dignitaries.—
The event being held was The National Children’s
Book and Literacy Alliance’s first major production, a national symposium
entitled “Children and Books at Crossroads," Friday, October 9, 1998. I
had worked hard to get a high quality venue—the Kennedy Presidential Library—
and worked even harder to get First Lady Hilary Clinton on board as the
Honorary Chair of our event. I knew I needed a major presence, a person of
depth, quality, and experience to anchor our roster of speakers, a person who
knew and understood the power of the written word, a person who understood the
transformational power of story and books in young people’s lives. I had long
admired Maya Angelou and when I first mentioned to our board that I wanted to
go after her as the morning keynote for our symposium, they were enthusiastic,
but doubtful of her availability. But I knew if I could “get” Professor
Angelou, she would be the solid cornerstone upon which I could then build the
whole day’s quality content.
Thankfully, miraculously, Maya Angleou said yes.
And because she said yes, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough
said yes. And education activist and author of the powerfully moving book,
“Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun,” Geoffrey Canada said yes. And CBS “Sunday Morning”
host Charles Osgood said yes. And Harvard astrophysicist and literacy advocate
Margaret Geller said yes. As did author Sven Birkerts, and Harvard professors
Catherine Snow and Jeanne Chall, publisher Lisa Quiroz, and literacy advocates
Dr. Perri Klass, William Truehart, and Elizabeth Segal. And Mrs. Teresa
Heinz-Kerry honored us by personally chairing our symposium. They all joined
the party because Maya Angelou was the first to say, yes, I will come.
A big black sedan pulled up in front of the
library’s main entrance. I opened the door for Professor Angelou, introducing
myself, welcoming her, helping her from the car, reaching high to hold an
umbrella over her head. She immediately engaged me in conversation as we walked
into the library and up the elevator to her private room, asking me in-depth
questions about our organization and our goals. I get rather passionate when I
talk about kids and books and reading, and as I shared information not covered
in my correspondence, my nervousness disappeared. It was only later that I realized
her interest and considerate questions were meant to put me at ease. The room
the Kennedy Library had provided for her was lovely and quiet. She asked where
everyone else was, and I explained our board members, with family and guests,
were in a large, communal “Green Room” downstairs. She asked me to take her
there, to meet everyone, and suggested we bring the bowl of fruit along with
us. Before we stepped back onto the elevator, she stopped, placing her hand on
my shoulder—even though her posture was curling forward and she leaned on a
cane, she was so very tall. Why, you’re passionate believers, she said, a
grassroots group reaching up, reaching out.
She entered the Green Room quietly, without fanfare
or drama, but everyone riveted toward her anyway. She chose to sit at the
table’s end, between a charming young intern from the Kennedy Library and my
two daughters Elizabeth and Emily. Introducing herself, she engaged all three
young women in conversation, asking them about themselves, their interests,
their schools. They were entranced, and my mother heart overflowed with
emotion, my mind and eyes making a mental snapshot of the moment for a life
memory. CBS’s Charles Osgood was good-humouredly helping my husband Dick and
our son Patrick hand-letter panelist name plates—a last minute rescue of an
overlooked detail. The room was filled with board members and their
spouses—Katherine and John Paterson, Patty and Bob MacLachlan, Sally and Bob
Truslow, Natalie and Sam Babbitt and their daughter Lucy, David Macaulay, and
Stephanie Loer, and dear friends and supporters Libby Rock and Grant Oliphant.
Our organization, the NCBLA, has always been a family affair. Everyone mixed
and mingled, introducing themselves and each other to Margaret Geller and
Geoffrey Canada and other panelists as they joined us. Maya Angelou was just
one of the NCBLA gang.
When Mrs. Heinz-Kerry arrived; it was game time. I
escorted both Dr. Angelou and Mrs. Heinz up to stage left, where they could
have a bit of privacy before their presentations. I got them some comfortable
chairs, then headed to the podium. My job was to welcome attendees, set the
tone for day, hopefully providing a bit of humor and inspiration, then
introduce Mrs. Heinz-Kerry. Beyond teaching in front of my class at RISD, or
giving a presentation at an SCBWI conference, I had very little public speaking
experience. There I was, the girl from Cleveland’s West Side, standing at the
podium in the Kennedy Presidential Library, in front of Congressional aides,
literacy activists, children and family television producers and executives,
professional educators, academics, major magazine editors, reporters, and one
of my heroes, Maya Angelou—and I was terrified. Without a typed copy of my
speech, I would never have remembered later what I said. I only remember that
when I finished, after greeting Mrs. Heinz as she walked to podium, Maya
Angelou was waiting in the wings. She cupped my face with both her hands, soft
and warm, and told me, nicely done little chicken. Always, always follow your
heart. We stood there together, her very tall, me very short. She held my hand
tight as she waited to go onstage for her speech. And of course, she soared,
the tempo and beat of her words and wisdom creating a song of inspiration and
hope.
Thank you Maya Angelou for your courage and the
many gifts you shared with the world. You were an incandescent flame of hope in
weary world. Thank you for a morning of lovely memories.
Mary Brigid Barrett
President and Executive Director
The National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance
•
Professional writers choose their own topics and story ideas; they
write about things they care about. In our current test oppressive
culture, students have little opportunity to choose their own writing
topics. Whenever possible, offer your students choices within a given
writing assignment. If, after being given a writing assignment, a
student comes up with a legitimately better idea, be flexible; allow
them to bend the assignment to meet their interests.
