Maya Angelou to speak at William & Mary
UPDATE, April 10, 2014: Due to an illness, Maya Angelou has cancelled her speaking engagement at William & Mary. The event will not be rescheduled. Patrons who have purchased tickets will receive a refund from the Tribe Ticket Office. Those who ordered with a credit card do not need to contact William & Mary or the Tribe Ticket Office regarding a refund. Refunds for these transactions will be processed by Friday, April 18 with no further action required by the purchaser. Individuals who ordered tickets with cash at the Tribe Ticket Office in William & Mary Hall must return the tickets no later than close of business on Friday, April 18 and produce a valid photo ID to the box office to receive their refund. The Tribe Ticket Office is open for normal business hours, Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. - Ed.
Celebrated poet and author Maya Angelou will speak at William & Mary on April 15 as part of the university’s annual “I am W&M” week. The address will be at 7:30 p.m. in William & Mary Hall.
Tickets for the event are free for students and will be available beginning March 19 at 9 a.m. There is a limit of one ticket per student with ID. Tickets for faculty and staff members as well as members of the public will go on sale March 21 at 9 a.m. with a limit of four tickets per person. Faculty/staff tickets are $10 with a discount code (to be advertised in the W&M Digest), and public tickets are $15. Tickets will be available through the Tribe Ticket Office at W&M Hall and online. For more information, please call 757-221-3340.
The event is being sponsored by the Alma Mater Productions, the W&M Student Assembly, the Office of Student Leadership Development, the Center for Student Diversity, the Office of University Development and the President’s Office with additional support from the Janet and Peter Atwater Lecture Endowment.
“We, as students, have grown up reading her poetry and hearing her story, so the opportunity to have Maya Angelou visit campus and speak to the William and Mary community is extremely exciting,” said Chase Koontz ’14, president of the Student Assembly. “As an author, poet and civil rights advocate, she has transformed her personal adversity into inspiration for others.”
Angelou is the author of more than 30 best-selling works, including the acclaimed “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” She has also long worked in film and television, and her script for the 1972 film “Georgia, Georgia” was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Angelou has appeared on-screen in several television shows and movies, including “Roots” and “Poetic Justice,” and she directed her first feature film, “Down in the Delta,” in 1996.
Angelou has received multiple awards, including the three Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts and the Lincoln Medal. She has also served on two presidential committees and read a poem at U.S. President Bill Clinton’s 1993 inauguration.
“I am W&M” week aims to celebrate the diversity of William & Mary’s community. Along with Angelou’s visit, this year’s week, April 11-20, will include such activities as a pride festival, a neurodiversity panel discussion, a day of faith expression and an opportunity for first-generation college students to share their stories.
