Maya Angelou, famous author, poet and playwright, has accepted a bid to speak at Northeastern July 21, said John Silveria, director of the Student Leadership Office.
The Student Leadership Office has been working to bring Angelou to campus since last fall, and has joined up with several student groups on campus to help co-sponsor the event, said Shawn Wolfgang, a former work study in the leadership office and secretary of the Inter-Fraternity Council.
“We were looking for someone who represented leadership and at the same time covered a broad basis,” Wolfgang said. He said throughout the year, the leadership office has held events focused on different topics ranging from spirituality to women in leadership to diversity, and felt Angelou encompassed them all.
“We felt she represented a lot of that,” he said.
Angelou, well-known for her civil rights activism and her autobiographies, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” and “All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes,” has also authored a Pulitzer Prize nominated volume of poetry, “Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ‘Fore I Die.”
Angelou is also one of the only poets to have read her original work before an American president. She read “On the Pulse of Morning” for former President Bill Clinton at his inauguration in 1993.
Students said they were pleased Northeastern was able to draw a big name speaker to campus during the summer months.
“It’s great that we were able to get someone as reputable as her to come speak at NU,” said Angela Cooper, a senior communications major. “She’s a lovely speaker and she’s incredibly inspiring.”
Camille Spivey, a junior political science major, said she has been a fan of Angelou’s since she was in high school, and said she was excited to get the opportunity to hear Angelou speak.
“I just love her work and I think she’s such an inspiration. I love her poetry and I love everything about her,” she said.
The lecture, which received funding from the Budget Review Committee, will be held in Blackman Auditorium, and is open to all students, faculty and staff with Husky Card identification, Silveria said. Each person is eligible for two tickets per Husky Card. Tickets will be free and will be available shortly after Angelou’s contract is finalized, Silveria said.
Wolfgang said he is confident that Angelou will draw in a crowd large enough to fill Blackman, and said the amount of student groups getting involved, including the Latin American Student Organization, the Inter-Fraternity Council, the Panhellenic Council and the Feminist Student Organization, will help get the word out about Angelou’s appearance.
“All the different groups that are getting involved have put on things themselves, so they’ll be able to draw in a big crowd,” Wolfgang said.
