Thursday, March 27, 2008 | by nathan

Happy Birthday, Dr. Angelou

This Tuesday, April 4, Dr. Maya Angelou will celebrate her 80th birthday. I’ve already shared on this blog a story of when I took a class from her at Wake Forest, when she was threatened by an ill-placed bumblebee. Almost anyone who has had that class, or who has met the woman, will tell you of her fantastic way of turning a phrase or shrugging off praise with a simple "Hm!"

That class came along at just the right time in my life - in the spring of 2001 I certainly needed some inspiration and confidence, and three weeks learning to perform poetry with Dr. Angelou gave me just the shot in the arm I needed to get through. She has a way of being in the world that makes you want to stand up straighter, speak more clearly and politely, and to practice kindness, good manners, and social justice. People hold their heads higher around her.

So happy birthday, Dr. Angelou, from me, a former student. Thanks for remembering my name a full year after I’d completed your class when we met up again. Thanks for reading my awful, awful 21-year-old poetry. Thank you for opening your home, life, and mind to a bunch of overeager college students. Thanks for letting me be the one to perform your poem "Bump d’Bump" on stage in front of you - on your 73rd birthday, no less, and for the way you grinned up at us the whole time. Happy Birthday to you (a bit early, because like always, I’m still a bit overeager, and I seem to remember you saying that’s not an awful thing to be).