Latest / Legacy Living with Dr. Gloria Burgess / Dare to Be You | Episode #490

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Dare to Be You | Episode #490 · Legacy Living with Dr. Gloria Burgess

0:21
Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to today's show, Legacy Living, Make Your
0:26
Speaker 1: Life Count.
0:28
Speaker 2: I'm your host, doctor Gloria Gloria Burgess, passionate inspirational speaker, author, poet,
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Speaker 2: and entrepreneur. Good morning, and welcome to Legacy Living, Make
0:43
Speaker 2: Your Life Count. I'm delighted that you joined me this morning.
0:48
Speaker 2: Today is Wednesday, February eighth. I want to give a
0:52
Speaker 2: great big thank you to those of you listening in today.
0:57
Speaker 2: I also want to give a great big shout out
0:59
Speaker 2: to all all of you listening all around the world.
1:02
Speaker 2: I'm delighted and so grateful that you tuned in. I
1:06
Speaker 2: sure hope you're enjoying a fabulous day to day and
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Speaker 2: that you're having a fantastic week, because you know what,
1:15
Speaker 2: in the grand song of the universe, life is very
1:20
Speaker 2: very short. It's short and sweet and oh so precious.
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Speaker 2: So I hope you're making a difference in your own life,
1:30
Speaker 2: because when you do, you also make a difference in
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Speaker 2: someone else's life. Now, a lot of us, a lot
1:38
Speaker 2: of folks really want to make their life count for something,
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Speaker 2: but they don't know quite how to do it, and
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Speaker 2: it seems so big to them that they don't even
1:50
Speaker 2: know where to begin. So they ask me, doctor Gloria,
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Speaker 2: how do you do that? How do you make your
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Speaker 2: life count? Well, it's really be very simple, very very simple.
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Speaker 2: You make your life count day by day, step by step,
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Speaker 2: moment by moment, every single day three sixty five twenty
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Speaker 2: four seven. You make your life count by being there
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Speaker 2: for somebody who needs the sweet fragrance of your presence,
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Speaker 2: By the simple loving things that you do for someone
2:24
Speaker 2: or say to someone, By being an encourager, by being
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Speaker 2: an uplifter. Maybe it's by making dinner or maybe buying
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Speaker 2: flowers or running a warm bath for your wife or husband,
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Speaker 2: just because by being grateful for who you are, being
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Speaker 2: grateful for family and friends, and counting your blessings. Now,
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Speaker 2: that's just nine or ten different ways to make your
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Speaker 2: life count. It doesn't have to be written in headlines
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Speaker 2: across the sky, does it. You can make your life
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Speaker 2: count just by doing the simple things, the small things,
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Speaker 2: the things that will move someone else's heart. That's what
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Speaker 2: legacy living Make your Life Count is all about. You
3:12
Speaker 2: can learn more about Legacy living Make your life count
3:15
Speaker 2: by visiting the Gloria Burgess website. That's Gloria Burgess g
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Speaker 2: l O r I A b as in boy, you
3:24
Speaker 2: are g E S S dot com. Just take a
3:27
Speaker 2: look around the website and you know, notice a few
3:30
Speaker 2: of the things that are on there, and you'll get
3:32
Speaker 2: a better sense of who I am and what legacy
3:35
Speaker 2: living is all about. Now that's the Gloria Burgess website.
3:39
Speaker 2: G l O R I A b as in boy,
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Speaker 2: you are g E S S dot com. Or by
3:48
Speaker 2: visiting Facebook at Facebook dot com. Forward slash d R
3:53
Speaker 2: for doctor d R Gloria Burgess p h D forward
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Speaker 2: slash all Right, today's show is an honor of a
4:07
Speaker 2: wonderful a wonderful poet and author, Lucille Clifton. She's an
4:12
Speaker 2: incredible writer and an amazing human being. Now, as many
4:17
Speaker 2: of you know, during the month of February in the
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Speaker 2: United States, we celebrate Black History Months or Black Heritage
4:25
Speaker 2: Months as we sometimes call it. Well, you know me,
4:29
Speaker 2: I like to celebrate the lives of African Americans, the
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Speaker 2: soulful music of black lives, every single day, not just
4:36
Speaker 2: the twenty eight days in February, every single day, three
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Speaker 2: sixty five, twenty four to seven. So who is who
4:45
Speaker 2: is Lucille Clifton? Well, as I mentioned, just a few
4:49
Speaker 2: moments ago. She's an incredible poet, and she's also an
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Speaker 2: amazing human being. I had the privilege and the honor
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Speaker 2: of meeting Miss Clifton not once, but several times. I
5:02
Speaker 2: first met her at the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival festival,
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Speaker 2: which is held every other year on the East Coast.
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Speaker 2: I also met her here on my stomping grounds in
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Speaker 2: the West Coast, at the Scadget River Poetry Festival, which
5:20
Speaker 2: is also held every other year. Now these are sister
5:24
Speaker 2: poetry festivals, the Dodge Festival and the s Gadget Festival,
5:28
Speaker 2: and these two celebrations are actually held on alternate years. Now.
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Speaker 2: When I first met Miss Lucille, I was struck. I
5:38
Speaker 2: was struck by how ordinary she was. Now, I don't
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Speaker 2: mean ordinary in a negative kind of way, not at all.
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Speaker 2: I actually mean it as a very high compliment. Lucille
5:50
Speaker 2: was ordinary in the way she looked, the way she walked,
5:55
Speaker 2: the way she spoke, the tilt of her head, even
5:57
Speaker 2: the language she used she used to introduce her poems,
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Speaker 2: and the words she used in her poems spoke to me.
6:07
Speaker 2: They spoke to my core just as clearly as an
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Speaker 2: elder in my personal village would speak words of wisdom
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Speaker 2: to me, the just right sized pearls that I could
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Speaker 2: tuck into my pocket and take with me wherever I
6:23
Speaker 2: happened to go. From Lucille's words, I could actually imagine
6:30
Speaker 2: the streets she lived on, the house she lived in,
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Speaker 2: the people she lived with, even the food she might
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Speaker 2: have cooked for those people. Her people, her people were
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Speaker 2: also my people. I could relate to Lucille as if
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Speaker 2: she were one of my own, one of my own neighbors,
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Speaker 2: one of my own aunties, one of my own sisters,
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Speaker 2: even right why because he was she was one of
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Speaker 2: my own. Lucille was the kind of person I love
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Speaker 2: to meet, and I love to write about, the kind
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Speaker 2: of person who who dares, who dares to be fully
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Speaker 2: and completely who they are inside and out. So in
7:22
Speaker 2: her honor, today's focus is Dare to be you, Dare
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Speaker 2: to be You. Now, before I dive into today's show,
7:34
Speaker 2: I want to pause for just a moment to welcome you,
7:37
Speaker 2: to welcome you, my listeners. If you're just joining us,
7:41
Speaker 2: I'm your host, doctor Gloria. Gloria Burgess. This is legacy living,
7:47
Speaker 2: make your life count, And I'd like to extend a
7:50
Speaker 2: very special welcome to those of you who are joining
7:53
Speaker 2: my show, or if you're joining Talk Network Radio for
7:57
Speaker 2: the very first time, let me tell you you are
8:01
Speaker 2: in for a real treat. I'm excited to have you
8:05
Speaker 2: listening in today, and I'm deeply honored that you've allowed
8:09
Speaker 2: me to be part of your day so you can
8:11
Speaker 2: be inspired by the ideas and resources to make your
8:17
Speaker 2: life count. Now once again, today's topic is there to
8:22
Speaker 2: be you, and my focus today is to pay tribute,
8:26
Speaker 2: to pay homage to Miss Lucille Clifton as we lift
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Speaker 2: up this prolific poet and writer. Now you know me,
8:39
Speaker 2: you know me well by now. I love to celebrate
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Speaker 2: and lift up black people, any people really, but Black
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Speaker 2: people in particular, especially during the month of February. But
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Speaker 2: I also want you to know that Black History Month
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Speaker 2: is just another month. I like to lift up people,
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Speaker 2: African American people, black people every single day. Three sixty
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Speaker 2: five twenty four seven. So again, thanks for joining us today. Now,
9:15
Speaker 2: the best way to introduce Lucille Clifton is not through
9:20
Speaker 2: the lens of the many awards and prizes and an
9:23
Speaker 2: honorary degree she earned, or where she taught, or even
9:28
Speaker 2: how many books. She wrote books of poetry and books
9:31
Speaker 2: for children. Oh No, the best way to introduce Lucille
9:36
Speaker 2: Clifton is through her own words, through her own poems.
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Speaker 2: I remember that whenever I heard her read, she seemed
9:47
Speaker 2: to really enjoy reading. One of her best known poems.
9:51
Speaker 2: Some of you may may know it. It's called Homage
9:55
Speaker 2: to My Hips. Homage to my Hips. These hips are
10:07
Speaker 2: big hips. They need space to move around in. They
10:13
Speaker 2: don't fit into little petty places. These hips are free hips.
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Speaker 2: They don't like to be held back. These hips have
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Speaker 2: never been enslaved. They go where they want to go.
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Speaker 2: They do what they want to do. These hips are
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Speaker 2: mighty hips. These hips are magic hips. I have known
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Speaker 2: them to put a spell on a man and spin
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Speaker 2: him like a top. I just love this poem for
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Speaker 2: so many reasons. I'm gonna read it again, Homage to
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Speaker 2: my Hips. These hips are big hips. They need space
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Speaker 2: to move around in. They don't fit into little petty places.
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Speaker 2: These hips are free hips. They don't like to be
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Speaker 2: held back. These hips have.
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Speaker 3: Never been enslaved.
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Speaker 2: They go where they want to go. They do what
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Speaker 2: they want to do. These hips. These hips are mighty hips.
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Speaker 2: These hips are magic hips. I have known them to
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Speaker 2: put a spell on a man and spin him like
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Speaker 2: a top.
12:01
Speaker 1: Ah.
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Speaker 2: I just love Lucille and how she takes just a
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Speaker 2: handful of words and makes incredible music and magic out
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Speaker 2: of those words. I love this particular poem. It explores
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Speaker 2: the body, a woman's body, in ways that we're not
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Speaker 2: supposed to talk about all the time, right and certainly
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Speaker 2: not in public, at least not when this poem was written.
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Speaker 2: On another layer, this poem also addresses the body, the
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Speaker 2: black body, not as a thing, not as an object,
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Speaker 2: not as something that was owned by another human being.
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Speaker 2: Here Clifton lists up the body as liberated and luscious,
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Speaker 2: not as an object, mind you, but as an embodied
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Speaker 2: aspect of womanhood, and as someone who had stepped away
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Speaker 2: from an identity of being owned, of being enslaved. Another
13:05
Speaker 2: one of my favorite poems by Miss Lucille is called
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Speaker 2: slave Ships. Slave Ships. In this poem, she calls the
13:19
Speaker 2: name of several slave ships that were used during the
13:23
Speaker 2: Middle Passage. Now, often the ships were named using Christian
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Speaker 2: images and words from scripture. And for those of you
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Speaker 2: who may not know what the Middle Passage is, it's
13:38
Speaker 2: actually a term that we use that refers to a
13:41
Speaker 2: specific part of what is sometimes called the triangular route
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Speaker 2: of the slave ship. So imagine a triangle, Okay, imagine
13:51
Speaker 2: a triangle, and the points of the triangle point to
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Speaker 2: the geography of the slave trade. So at the top,
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Speaker 2: you know that very first point of triangle, at the top,
14:02
Speaker 2: we would refer to what is now known as the UK,
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Speaker 2: the United Kingdom. Okay. And then the second point of
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Speaker 2: the triangle points down to the west coast of Africa,
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Speaker 2: all right. And then this point of the triangle crosses over, okay,
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Speaker 2: to the third point, and that geography is known as
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Speaker 2: the America's North America, Central America, and South America. These
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Speaker 2: were the destination points for the African people who were enslaved.
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Speaker 2: So the Middle Passage is the name that we give
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Speaker 2: to the middle part of the triangle, the part where
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Speaker 2: the slave ships crossed the Atlantic Ocean from Africa to
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Speaker 2: the Americas. So Lucille says this about her poem slave Ships.
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Speaker 2: She says, this is a poem about ships that went
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Speaker 2: from the African continent, took free people and brought them
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Speaker 2: to this continent where they were enslaved. Now she goes
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Speaker 2: on to say, I did not say that this was
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Speaker 2: about ships that went to Africa and God's slaves and
15:13
Speaker 2: brought them here. And there is a difference, if you
15:16
Speaker 2: can feel it now. I noticed these names of slave ships,
15:21
Speaker 2: and I wanted to write about it. One of the
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Speaker 2: ships was called Jesus, one was called Angel, and another
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Speaker 2: was called Grace of God. So here's her poem, slave
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Speaker 2: ships loaded like spoons into the belly of Jesus, where
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Speaker 2: we lay for weeks, for months, in the sweat and
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Speaker 2: stink of our own breathing. Jesus, why do you not
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Speaker 2: protect us? Chained to the heart of the Angel, where
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Speaker 2: the prayers we never tell, and hot and red as
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Speaker 2: our bloody ankles, Jesus Angel? Can these be men who
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Speaker 2: vomit us out from ships called Jesus Angel, Grace of
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Speaker 2: God onto a heathen country? Jesus Angel? Ever again? And
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Speaker 2: can this tongue speak? Can these bones walk Grace of God?
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Speaker 2: Can this sin live mercy? What do you say after
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Speaker 2: a poem like that? Again? It's amazing what Lucille can
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Speaker 2: do with just a just a handful of words, a
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Speaker 2: handful of ordinary words that she transforms into the extraordinary.
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Speaker 2: It is beautiful poem Asphodel william Carlos Williams says this,
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Speaker 2: it is difficult to get the news from poems. It
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Speaker 2: is difficult to get the news from poems, though men
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Speaker 2: die miserably every.
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Speaker 3: Day for lack of what is found there.
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Speaker 2: This little gem about the news you can find inside
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Speaker 2: poems is if tucked deep inside of that poem. Asphodel,
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Speaker 2: Lucille's poems remind me that inside of every poem is
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Speaker 2: a bit of news, news that shines the light on
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Speaker 2: what it means to be to be human. Before her
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Speaker 2: death in February two thousand ten, Clifton was a Distinguished
19:09
Speaker 2: Professor of Humanities at Saint Mary's College of Maryland. She
19:14
Speaker 2: also taught at Columbia University. Born in Depew, New York,
19:20
Speaker 2: in nineteen thirty six to working class parents, Lucille attended
19:25
Speaker 2: Howard University before she turned seventeen years old. She was
19:29
Speaker 2: actually sixteen when she enrolled. Although she was given the
19:35
Speaker 2: name Selma when she was born, as a young woman,
19:39
Speaker 2: she changed her name to Lucille. Her given name of
19:45
Speaker 2: Selma was also her mother's name. Like Lucille, her mother
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Speaker 2: was also a writer, a poet in her own right,
19:55
Speaker 2: whose gifts were unfortunately thwarted. In her poem called Fury Fury,
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Speaker 2: Clifton captures the essence of her mother's experience. For Mama Fury,
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Speaker 2: remember this. She is standing by the furnace. The coals
20:33
Speaker 2: glisten like rubies. Her hand, her hand is crying. Her
20:44
Speaker 2: hand is clutching a sheaf of papers, poems. She gives
20:54
Speaker 2: them up. They burn jewels into jewels. Her eyes are animals.
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Speaker 2: Each hank of hair is a serpent's obedient wife. She
21:13
Speaker 2: will never recover. Remember there is nothing you will not
21:25
Speaker 2: bear for this woman's sake. Lucille Clifton's father and her
21:42
Speaker 2: mother had an elementary school education, and her mother was
21:52
Speaker 2: also a poet, a poet with a burning desire to
21:57
Speaker 2: write and Lucille own words. She says, Once, my mother
22:02
Speaker 2: got a letter from somebody who wanted to put her
22:05
Speaker 2: poems in a book, and my father wouldn't let her
22:09
Speaker 2: do it. Now, now you frowned, because what you know.
22:17
Speaker 2: Now she's talking here to Bill Moyers, who's interviewing her. Okay,
22:22
Speaker 2: she continues, but let me tell you something. In the
22:26
Speaker 2: forties and fifties, husbands thought they could do that. Sometimes
22:31
Speaker 2: guys still try that now, Okay, it's not gonna work
22:36
Speaker 2: for you, you know. And so what my mother did
22:40
Speaker 2: was take her poems and she burned them. She put
22:43
Speaker 2: them in a cold stove. And I was standing on
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Speaker 2: the steps leading down into the cellar when she did that.
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Speaker 2: And this poem, Fury, this is a poem, and I understand.
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Speaker 2: I remembered that. I understand what fury and anger were.
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Speaker 2: Now again, this is Lucille talking to Bill Moyer's. He
23:15
Speaker 2: was interviewing her for his wonderful gem of a book
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Speaker 2: called The Language of Life. This book is all about poets, poetry,
23:24
Speaker 2: and the craft of using language to reflect life, to
23:28
Speaker 2: give us a window into life, into humanity. Lucille's poem
23:36
Speaker 2: is very, very powerful. It is a poem that pays
23:42
Speaker 2: homage to her mom. It's also a poem that uses
23:47
Speaker 2: a few well chosen words, like all of Clifton's poems do.
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Speaker 2: And in those few words, those few lines of poetry,
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Speaker 2: is this magnificent story told in me nature. This poet
24:05
Speaker 2: is so so at the top of her craft, she
24:11
Speaker 2: can convict us all in just a few short lines.
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Speaker 2: And at the core of this last poem, at the
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Speaker 2: core this poem paints a vivid picture of her mom
24:25
Speaker 2: throwing her poems into that batch of cold, into the
24:29
Speaker 2: fiery furnace. But at the core of this poem are
24:35
Speaker 2: words and images. It's a story about loyalty. Now, for
24:41
Speaker 2: Thelma Sayers, it's about her poems, her creativity, and it's
24:47
Speaker 2: also about her loyalty, about her loyalty, her stepfastness to
24:52
Speaker 2: being a woman who accepted her husband's wishes. Now, for us,
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Speaker 2: maybe it's about loyalty to work, or loyalty to the past,
25:07
Speaker 2: or to a place, or to a friendship or to
25:10
Speaker 2: a lifestyle. Perhaps maybe it's our loyalty to our friends
25:16
Speaker 2: or a relationship that no longer nourish us. Maybe it's
25:20
Speaker 2: work that no longer feeds us. Or maybe it's loyalty
25:25
Speaker 2: to a way of living, a way of being, a
25:26
Speaker 2: way of moving through the world that no longer serves us. Now,
25:34
Speaker 2: what we don't often recognize is that on the other
25:37
Speaker 2: side of loyalty is disloyalty. Okay, let me repeat that.
25:44
Speaker 2: What we don't often recognize is that on the other
25:47
Speaker 2: side of loyalty is disloyalty. What do I mean by that? Well, often,
25:54
Speaker 2: in order to be loyal to something or someone or
25:57
Speaker 2: how we move through the world. We have to give
25:59
Speaker 2: up something. We have to surrender something, don't we We
26:03
Speaker 2: have to be disloyal to someone or something else in
26:08
Speaker 2: order to be loyal. Now, many of us are disloyal
26:11
Speaker 2: to our own creativity. I just spoke with a woman
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Speaker 2: this morning who called me. She said, Gloria, I need
26:18
Speaker 2: some mentoring time. I need some mentoring time. And what
26:24
Speaker 2: the conversation was all about was disloyalty, being disloyal to
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Speaker 2: our own creativity. And when we are, the consequence is
26:40
Speaker 2: that we're disloyal to our own creative juices, our own
26:44
Speaker 2: creative life. When we're loyal to someone or something else,
26:49
Speaker 2: we often become disloyal to what has heart and meaning
26:53
Speaker 2: for us. Here's the thing. We form habits, well intentioned
27:00
Speaker 2: habits that make us obedient to one thing, a way
27:04
Speaker 2: of life, a way of thinking, a way of being
27:07
Speaker 2: a spouse or a partner, our children sometimes right, and
27:12
Speaker 2: in so doing we don't even realize the big price
27:16
Speaker 2: tag that goes along with that choice. So what is
27:21
Speaker 2: the price we pay? The price we pay is being stuck,
27:26
Speaker 2: being stuck in old ways of thinking, in unhealthy relationships
27:30
Speaker 2: and work. That we have out grown. We stay stuck
27:33
Speaker 2: in old, worn out habits and routines that no longer
27:37
Speaker 2: fit us, that no longer provide oxygen for us, habits
27:42
Speaker 2: and routines that no longer serve us. Now that's a
27:48
Speaker 2: different show, I know. Right now, back to Lucille. One
27:59
Speaker 2: of the things I just love about Lucille, that I
28:02
Speaker 2: just adore about her is her uncanny ability to recognize
28:07
Speaker 2: the extraordinary in what others would see as ordinary. She
28:14
Speaker 2: actually sees in a particular way, and she goes the
28:18
Speaker 2: extra mile through her curiosity and then through her writing.
28:23
Speaker 2: That's what artists do, That's what poets do, that's what
28:28
Speaker 2: musicians do, that's what sculptors do. They go the extra mile.
28:35
Speaker 2: They see in a very particular way, and then they
28:38
Speaker 2: go the extra mile through their curiosity and whatever art
28:43
Speaker 2: form they're working in. So by seeing the extraordinary in
28:47
Speaker 2: the ordinary, Lucille makes a difference every single day in
28:54
Speaker 2: her poems and in her children's books. This next poem
29:02
Speaker 2: is one that came out of Lucille's experience of visiting
29:06
Speaker 2: a plantation. Visiting a plantation in South Carolina. Now, for me,
29:13
Speaker 2: her experience and what she pours into the poem is
29:17
Speaker 2: all about It's all about seeing, all about seeing, And
29:22
Speaker 2: I just love how she reflects on an ordinary experience
29:27
Speaker 2: that most of us would just take as a given.
29:30
Speaker 2: We just kind of take it for granted, going on
29:33
Speaker 2: in all plantation tour, right. But not Lucille. She senses
29:37
Speaker 2: into her experience, and as curious and as furious as
29:43
Speaker 2: a terrier with the bone, she on Earth's and treasures,
29:49
Speaker 2: unearths and treasures. What is quite extraordinary. This next poem
29:56
Speaker 2: is called at the Cemetery, Walnut Grove Plantation, South Carolina,
30:02
Speaker 2: nineteen eighty nine. At the Cemetery, Walnut Grove Plantation, South Carolina,
30:13
Speaker 2: nineteen eighty nine. Among the rocks at Walnut Grove, your
30:27
Speaker 2: silence drumming in my bones, Tell me your names. Nobody
30:40
Speaker 2: mentioned slaves, and yet the curious tools shine with your fingerprints.
30:52
Speaker 2: Nobody mentioned slaves. But somebody did this work, who had
30:58
Speaker 2: no guide, no stone, who molders under rock. Tell me
31:11
Speaker 2: your names, Tell me your bashful names, and I will testify.
31:24
Speaker 2: The inventory lists ten slaves, but only men were recognized
31:35
Speaker 2: among the rocks at Walnut Grove. Some of these honored
31:42
Speaker 2: dead were dark. Some of these dark were slaves. Some
31:51
Speaker 2: of these slaves were women. Some of them did this
31:58
Speaker 2: honored work. Tell me your names, fore, mothers, brothers, tell
32:12
Speaker 2: me your dishonored names. Here lies here, lies here, lies here,
32:27
Speaker 2: lies here. A prolific and widely respected poet and writer,
33:01
Speaker 2: Lucille Clifton's work emphasizes endurance and strength and resilience through adversity.
33:15
Speaker 2: Because she focuses on African American experience and life, and
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Speaker 2: because she is so particular in that focus, her work
33:28
Speaker 2: is universal in.
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Speaker 3: Its appeal and its impact.
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Speaker 2: That's what good poetry does, so particular in its focus
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Speaker 2: that it becomes universal, universal in its appeal and its impact.
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Speaker 2: In fact, as they awarded the prestigious Ruth Lily Poetry
33:53
Speaker 2: Prize to Clifton about ten years ago, the judges said,
34:00
Speaker 2: one always feels the looming humaneness around Lucille Clifton's poems.
34:08
Speaker 2: It is a moral quality that some poets have and
34:14
Speaker 2: some don't. As I mentioned earlier, Lucille left this earth
34:32
Speaker 2: about seven years ago. On February thirteenth, twenty ten, Lucille
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Speaker 2: Clifton died. I for one, could not believe it. I
34:42
Speaker 2: didn't want to believe it. My fellow poet and writer,
34:46
Speaker 2: my sister friend, who, when asked about the craft of poetry,
34:50
Speaker 2: would craftly tell you stories instead. My sister friend passed
34:58
Speaker 2: on after a long struggle with cancer. She crossed over
35:04
Speaker 2: to the other side. About two weeks later, Bill Moyers
35:11
Speaker 2: wrote a fitting tribute to her life and her work.
35:17
Speaker 2: Here's what Moyers wrote. He says, the long arc of morality,
35:27
Speaker 2: the long arc of morality that bends towards justice, leads
35:32
Speaker 2: not only through the courthouse and the state House, but
35:35
Speaker 2: out on the streets and in the pages of poetry
35:39
Speaker 2: and prose. Luckily, for the rest of us, there are
35:45
Speaker 2: writers who, in words both beautiful and bold, can express
35:49
Speaker 2: rage at injustice. But they don't stop there, help us
36:00
Speaker 2: experience sorrow and joy through an intimate knowledge of tempestuous
36:06
Speaker 2: human nature. We lost one of those gifted people the
36:10
Speaker 2: other day, one of our most popular poets, my friend
36:15
Speaker 2: Lucille Clifton. Lucille Clifton's poetry, legendary for its sparseness of
36:23
Speaker 2: word and punctuation, spoke unflinchingly of personal hardship, the history
36:29
Speaker 2: of oppression, and the human condition. She was a standout
36:34
Speaker 2: in several programs we meaning PBS in several programs we
36:39
Speaker 2: produced over the years on the wonders of poetry. Lucille
36:45
Speaker 2: Clifton learned to love language as a child listening to
36:48
Speaker 2: poems written by her mother, a woman who never finished
36:53
Speaker 2: grade school. Inheriting that love of language and the spirit
36:58
Speaker 2: of her mom, Lucille Clifton wrote poetry of her own
37:01
Speaker 2: twenty years before she was actually published, but with her
37:06
Speaker 2: first collections of poems, she quickly gained recognition that just
37:11
Speaker 2: kept growing over time. Over a long and prolific career,
37:19
Speaker 2: Clifton published more than thirty books that probed the indignations
37:24
Speaker 2: of slavery, celebrated the day to day events of life
37:29
Speaker 2: and community, and chronicled with frank and pliant sensuality, the fragilties,
37:36
Speaker 2: the frailties and pleasures of the human body. Lucille Clifton
37:43
Speaker 2: was a two time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in
37:48
Speaker 2: the same year, something that had never happened before. In
37:54
Speaker 2: two thousand, she received the National Book Award for her
37:58
Speaker 2: book of poems called Blessing. The book votes new and
38:01
Speaker 2: selected poems, and then in two thousand and seven, she
38:06
Speaker 2: became the first African American woman to receive the Ruth
38:10
Speaker 2: Lilly Poetry Prize, one of America's most prestigious poetry honors.
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Speaker 2: Lucille Clifton was seventy three. Thank you, Bill Moyers for
38:26
Speaker 2: that amazing, amazing tribute. I'll share one final poem with
38:34
Speaker 2: you today by Lucille Clifton, one of my favorites, as
38:36
Speaker 2: we lift her up today in honor of Black History Months,
38:41
Speaker 2: a very special month when we celebrate the accomplishments, the achievements,
38:46
Speaker 2: the mighty road that Blacks have journeyed. And you know
38:50
Speaker 2: I like to celebrate Black history not only during the
38:53
Speaker 2: month of February, but every single day three sixty five
38:58
Speaker 2: twenty four. And this poem is fittingly called Won't you
39:06
Speaker 2: Celebrate with me? Won't you celebrate with me? Won't you
39:17
Speaker 2: celebrate with me? What I have shaped into a kind
39:22
Speaker 2: of life. I had no model, born in Babylon, both
39:30
Speaker 2: non white and woman. What did I see to be
39:34
Speaker 2: except myself? I made it up here on this bridge
39:41
Speaker 2: between Starshine and Clay, my one hand holding tight my
39:48
Speaker 2: other hand. Come celebrate with me that every day something
39:59
Speaker 2: has tried to kill me.
40:03
Speaker 3: And has failed.
40:12
Speaker 2: Oh, Miss Lucille miss Lucille. We lift you up and
40:19
Speaker 2: celebrate you. We celebrate you each and every single day.
40:26
Speaker 2: Thank you for teaching us how to dare to Dare
40:32
Speaker 2: to be you. Now, if you missed any part of
40:45
Speaker 2: today's broadcast, you can listen to the recording at your
40:49
Speaker 2: own convenience. You can listen to it on the goal.
40:52
Speaker 2: How about that. Check us out at www Dot talknetwork
40:58
Speaker 2: Radio dot com. Forward slash Legacy Living. That's www. Dot
41:04
Speaker 2: Talk network Radio dot com. Forward slash Legacy Living, l
41:10
Speaker 2: E G AC Y l I d I n G
41:14
Speaker 2: all smushed together in one word. The name of today's
41:20
Speaker 2: show is Dare to Be You, a tribute to Lucille Clifton.
41:27
Speaker 2: Before I close today, I want to thank each of
41:29
Speaker 2: you for tuning in to today's show, for allowing me
41:34
Speaker 2: to share a bit of my journey with what Legacy
41:37
Speaker 2: living is all about, not just living and learning, but
41:41
Speaker 2: living and learning and serving so that you make a
41:44
Speaker 2: difference in your own life and in the lives of others.
41:49
Speaker 2: It's all about being on purpose every single day. Three
41:54
Speaker 2: sixty five twenty four seven. Legacy living is one of
41:59
Speaker 2: the many ways to make your life count. I'm your host,
42:04
Speaker 2: Doctor Gloria Gloria Burgess, and this has been Legacy Living,
42:09
Speaker 2: Make your Life Count. Please join me again next week
42:13
Speaker 2: right here on Talk Network Radio for another show of
42:17
Speaker 2: Legacy Living, Make your Life Count. We're here again next Wednesday,
42:22
Speaker 2: ten am Eastern Time, right here Talk Network Radio. Don't
42:28
Speaker 2: just count the days in your life, Make the days
42:32
Speaker 2: in your life count. That's what Legacy Living is all about.
42:37
Speaker 2: Have a fantastic day and remember, make the days of
42:42
Speaker 2: your life count.
42:44
Speaker 3: Godless, that's our show today.
42:58
Speaker 1: I'm your host, Gloria, Gloria Burgess.
43:03
Speaker 2: I hope you'll join.
43:03
Speaker 1: Me again next week. Until then, don't just count the
43:08
Speaker 1: days in your life, make the days in your life account.
43:12
Speaker 2: That's what Legacy Living is all about. Here's to you.
43:17
Speaker 2: Have a fantastic day. Be sure to make.
43:21
Speaker 1: It a yes kind of day, and remember, celebrate, celebrate
43:26
Speaker 1: the music of your life. Make the day in your
43:31
Speaker 1: life count