I have been a fan of Poet Sonia Sanchez's since my activist days at Kent State University in the late sixties. So when I heard she was scheduled to be the featured reader at the Jean Burden Poetry Series at California State University, L.A. on Thursday, May 14, 2015, I planned to be there, front and center. It was a good thing I arrived at the Annenberg Lecture Hall early. By the time she arrived, there wasn't an open seat. Throughout her lecture and reading, I hung on to every word and took notes. Here are some of her quotes.
"You should be pissed at the mess of the earth your elders have made."
"It is an obscenity for 1 percent of America's population to own 99 percent of the wealth."
"You must speak out against racism and sexism."
"Teach people how to breathe and you teach them life."
"Teach children haiku and you teach them life."
"Write peace haikus."
"Poetry is unconscious conversation."
Quoting Octavio Paz: "Poetry is a bridge between history and truth."
What has Professor Sanchez been doing lately? Besides lecturing internationally on Black Culture and Literature, Women's Liberation, Peace and Racial Justice, she completed her most recent book, "Morning Haiku". BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez, a new feature documentary about her life and work, is scheduled to be released in the summer of 2015.
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| Author Hazel Clayton Harrison with Distinguished Poet Sonia Sanchez |
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