“On the Pulse of Morning” by Maya Angelou. New York, NY: Random House, 1993.

National Poetry Month was established in April 1996 to highlight the achievements of American poets, support teachers, encourage the reading and writing of poems, and increase the attention given to poetry in the media. We’ve been digging through our poetry section at Lemuria, thinking and talking about our favorite poets, and I remembered that we have a collectible edition of the late Maya Angelou’s inaugural poem “On the Pulse of Morning.”

Even though the United States has had 57 presidential inaugurations, we have had only five inaugural poems. John F. Kennedy was the first to have a famous poet read at the ceremony in 1961. Robert Frost was to read a poem called “Dedication” which he had written for the occasion with references to Kennedy’s slim victory over Nixon. When Frost looked down to read, the glare was so strong from the heavy blanket of snow that he could not see the words–even though someone tried to shield the paper with his hat. The 86-year-old Frost simply recited a poem from memory called “The Gift Outright.”

It was not until 1993 that a poem was read again. Maya Angelou read “On the Pulse of Morning” at Bill Clinton’s inauguration. In a 1993 interview with the New York Times, she said that she wanted to communicate “that as human beings we are more alike that we are unalike.” As she prepared to deliver her poem, she admitted that it was an overwhelming honor. Perhaps, Angelou knew of Frost’s trouble at Kennedy’s ceremony. She asked every one to pray for her:

“I ask everybody to pray for me all the time. Pray. Pray. Pray. Just send me some good energies. Last night I said to this group of hundreds of people, I said: ‘Pray for me please, for the inaugural poem. Not in general. Pray for me by name.’ Say: ‘Lord! Help Maya Angelou’ Don’t just say ‘Lord help six-foot-tall black ladies or poets or anything like that. Lord. Help Maya Angelou. Please!’”

So far we’ve had three more inaugural poets: Miller Williams read “Of History and Hope” at the 1997 inaugural of Bill Clinton; Elizabeth Alexander read “Praise Song for the Day” at the 2009 inaugural of Barack Obama; and Richard Blanco read “One Today” at the 2013 inaugural of Barack Obama.

Since Robert Frost’s inaugural poem, most of the poems are published in a special inaugural edition. Random House issued Maya Angelou’s “On the Pulse of Morning” in a signed limited edition of 500 numbered copies. It was also published in a pamphlet format in dark maroon wrappers. Collecting these inaugural poets is a unique way to collect poetry and a piece of American history. It is also curious to see which presidents will carry on this tradition.

This is video footage of Maya Angelou reciting her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” at the 1993 Presidential Inaugural. This footage is official public record produced by the White House Television (WHTV) crew, provided by the Clinton Presidential Library.

This poem by Mississippi native Natasha Trethewey reminds me that my story isn’t the only story in the world.  Trethewey, growing up the daughter of a black mother and white father was sometimes able to “pass” as white.  Yet, she often found herself occupying a strange third world—neither black nor white— and this only added to the awkwardness of growing up.  “White Lies” uses language cleverly (the pun of the title, the nod toward Ivory Soap’s “99.4% Pure” slogan, and the ambiguity at the end) to create something that hangs with me long after I’ve read it.

White Lies

The lies I could tell,

when I was growing up

light-bright, near-white,

high-yellow, red-boned

in a black place,

were just white lies.

I could easily tell the white folks

that we lived uptown,

not in that shanty-fied shotgun section

along the tracks.  I could act

like my homemade dresses

came straight out the window

of Maison Blanche.  I could even

keep quiet, quiet as kept,

like the time a white girl said

(squeezing my hand), Now

we have three of us in this class.

But I paid for it ever time

Mama found out.

She laid her hands on me,

then washed out my mouth

with Ivory soap.  This

is to purify, she said,

to cleanse your lying tongue.

Believing her, I swallowed suds

thinking they’d work

from the inside out.

[from Domestic Work]

Written by Jamie 

On March 31, 2015 Y.A. authors Claudia Gray and Moriah McStay will be at Lemuria Bookstore. Signing at 5 p.m., Reading at 5:30 p.m.

Y.A. is a publishing term that stands for Young Adult, and is a genre marketed to high school students. This genre of “children’s literature” borders between adolescence and adulthood, and often features themes that explore that transition in a young person’s life. Young Adult authors have written books that are fun to read, and some of the best Y.A. books are sharp and well-written, so that there is a far-reaching crowd beyond the age of 17 that enjoys reading Y.A. (looking at you, John Green).

I am delighted to bring the sharpest and wittiest pair of Y.A. authors from the South to Jackson.

Attend an exciting panel at Lemuria Books this Tuesday, featuring Claudia Gray and Moriah McStay. I interviewed Claudia back in November when A Thousand Pieces of You hit the shelves, but now she will be visiting Jackson and Lemuria, along with Memphis author Moriah McStay with her debut Y.A. novel, Everything That Makes You. I can’t sing their praises enough, and will divide and conquer each book.

A Thousand Pieces of You

by Claudia Gray

“Orphan Black” meets “Cloud Atlas” in the first book of this epic dimension-bending trilogy about a girl who must chase her father’s killer through multiple dimensions. A little Dr. Who, a little “Wrinkle in Time” that takes place not only in different dimensions, but in different cities around the world. Gray began her writing career with the Evernight series: four YA novels set in an eerie gothic boarding school. The Evernight books received critical acclaim from national media, earned Gray the title of New York Times bestseller, and jumpstarted her career. She is also the author of the popular and highly praised Spellcaster series, the Firebird Trilogy, and the upcoming Star Wars novel, “Lost Stars.”

Though she has worked as a lawyer, journalist, disc jockey, and extremely poor waitress, she currently writes full time. She resides in New Orleans.

Fun facts: Claudia’s favorite childhood book was “A Little Princess” by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and if she could be any fictional character, she would be Hermione.

Everything That Makes You

by Moriah McStay

What if your life had two trajectories that were almost the same, but with slight nuances. What if you never had that scar on your face? These are the questions “Everything That Makes You” asks. The reader follows the same girl in two stories. Moving between them feels like a game, or a great song—exciting, unpredictable, and so compelling. Because luck may determine our paths, but maybe it’s who we are that determines our luck. You will not be able to put this book down—all the more reason to come listen to McStay read this Tuesday!

Moriah says: “I love Mr. Darcy, guacamole, Hob Nobs, indie music, consignment stores, Harry Potter, and love stories.”

While these books may be for the young “adults” of the world, they are also for the young at heart! Visit Lemuria on Tuesday at 5 p.m. to hear Gray and McStay read from their books and explain their writing process.

Written by Clara 

I started 2015 in the mood for short stories. Maybe welcoming a new year had my mind ready to consume as much as possible in so few pages, or, more likely, maybe with the prospect of a whole year ahead of me, I just wasn’t ready to commit to anything longer. Either way, I scanned through my “to read” list, bumped a few books in line on the shelf, and added a few more to suit my mind-state. One of the first to get its turn in my hands was a debut collection I remembered seeing in a Buzzfeed article: Thomas Pierce’s Hall of Small Mammals.

In this collection, you can expect to encounter Ice Age animals brought to the Deep South and named after child stars, medical mysteries involving government conspiracies, and the difficulties of home invasion for those suffering short term memory loss. Yet, I hesitate to start describing these stories with the word “weird,” because as strange as some of them are, they are not stories about weird things. While many of Pierce’s stories contain an unrealistic element, the strange parts never seem to take center stage. It is hard to describe what goes on in some of them without getting hung up on extinct creatures returning to life or separate lives being lived while waking and while asleep, but these devices are only there as background noise for the relationships on display. Pierce is writing about people, their beliefs, their place in their own worlds, and their relationships. The fun, often very funny, part of reading these stories is witnessing (more or less) reasonable people in (mostly) unreasonable situations.

It was hard to choose a favorite among the stories in this collection, but the one that stayed with me the longest was itself a small collection of vignettes involving people falling down. In this story, Pierce quickly introduces a number of characters through incidents in which they each take a tumble. Increasingly funny as you read one character after another biting it harder than the last, I think this story exemplifies what Pierce set out to do with his collection. The falling characters become a spectacle, one that others find themselves drawn to watch in their moments of misfortune, ultimately because we can all relate to those most embarrassing, most human moments.

While none of the stories directly overlap, there are clues throughout that all those he has written about here inhabit the same universe. Partly because of this, reading Hall of Small Mammals is a lot like a visit to the zoo. Each story is contained in its own exhibit, and you wander from one to the next, expecting to peer through the glass and find something you don’t encounter every day. The downside to Pierce’s style is the separation he has created from the characters. Almost like a zoo spectator, I was content to watch the characters in their created environment, giggle from my side of the bars, then move on to the next without much significant connection. While entertaining, you don’t feel like you’re missing much because there are other cages to see, go ahead, and move along. This makes Hall of Small Mammals a quick read, one you can laugh over before passing to a friend.

Written by Matt

I read Isaac Asimov’s most well known short story “Nightfall” recently, and it made me think like no other work of fiction ever has.  That, more than anything else, is what I love about his writing.  A planet that will face it’s first night in two thousand years tries to prepare itself to see stars in the sky.  Society has been built on the assumption that there will always be a sun- bright and warm above them.  Without knowing what they are, can people appreciate the beauty and depth that stars represent?  What foundations have we built our own culture on that aren’t as secure as we think they are? Published in the 1940’s, this is not a thinly veiled comment on environmentalism (despite my weak descriptions), but a reflection of our society; its needs, and its fears.

One recurring theme in Asimov’s writing is the thin but bitterly-fought differences between science and religion.  Holding a PhD in biochemistry he was acutely aware of the conflicts and overlapping claims science and religion often make.  In his Foundation series he takes the end of an epoch (the fall of an empire that stretches across a galaxy) to show just how much science and religion overlap.  Knowledge and belief are two different ways to interpret the things we see and feel.  In my mind, knowledge is based in facts and observable events.

Belief is much deeper, something in our bones that tells us about these facts and events around us.  The important distinction is how we use our ability to understand the world around us.  Science and religion can impact the world, but it is up to us to guide the hammer.

The Foundation series won the Nebula Award for best science fiction or fantasy series ever written, beating out the odds-on favorite: The Lord of the Rings. Asimov traces the history of the Foundation- a scientific oasis, a seed vault of all the accumulated knowledge of the 12,000 year reign of the Galactic Empire. One conversation leads to planets facing off in war decades later.  A single trade agreement could be the reason a planet is able to throw off an oppressive religion.  Asimov shows how our own modern civilization evolved, what roles science, religion, and economics all played. This is a story so well known to us we can only observe them honestly in an outside world.

I would highly recommend reading Isaac Asimov’s work.  These stories published decades ago are relevant today because of the questions that they ask. We must continue to ask them- for each generation must find their own answers.

“What is there in darkness to drive me mad?”

“Have you ever experienced darkness, young man?”

–Nightfall

Written by Daniel