One minute, North Carolina Central freshman Tomeka Ward was just one of the crowd gathered at Brooks' side, eager to shake her hand and glean inspiration. The occasion was an historic three-day gathering of African American poets called 'The Furious Flower Conference,' held recently at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA, where Brooks was both the inspiration and the official honoree. In seconds, without a wave or a word, she becomes the center of a crowd of gushing girls, excited English professors and rising literary stars, who bathe her in the glow of flashbulbs and warm accolades. The Pulitzer Prize-Winner and Poet Laureate Shuns Pretense, Invites Challengesįrom a cozy corner in the last row of the auditorium, Gwendolyn Brooks, revered by many African American poets as their patron saint, sits alone, radiating her own special light in the darkened theater.
