I chose The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou as one of my favorite books because poetry has been a lifelong love of mine. Most of the writers that I adore are the old African-American poets. Their work expresses a part of history that can only be told in the words of a poet. Such names as Paul Laurence Dunbar, Countee Cullen and Langston Hughes were introduced to me during my high school years right along with Shakespeare and other notables. But of all the poets that are alive today, Maya Angelou is my favorite. When I read ‘Phenomenal Woman’ I feel a special closeness to so many of the women who were mentors to me. I have had the privilege of performing several of Ms. Angelou's poems at special events, especially ‘On The Pulse of Morning’, the poem which she wrote and performed during the inauguration of President Clinton.

The second book I chose is one that allows me to recount my days as an instructor of pediatric nursing. I used the book Approaches to the Care of Adolescents as one of the supplemental texts for the course. I have not kept very many of the books from that era of my life so this one has to hold the memory of the others for me. My dream was to be a pediatric nurse, and my mission was to help my students understand the uniqueness of the pediatric nurse. Actually, I would have made them all peds nurses but some of them resisted.

Perhaps the two books best illustrate the life I have enjoyed. My hobby of 52 years has been storytelling. Using the poems turned into stories I have entertained thousands of children. I can always smile when I remember the look in their eyes and the expressions on their faces as the stories unfold.

Over the years I have collected boxes of thank you letters from young children and not-so-young children who still remember how it felt to listen to a story. I always take a book to my performances so that the children will relate what they hear to the written word.

Photo by: Dwight Bennett, Ned Davis & Martine Horrell
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