Death of a Poet's Mother

A well-known son and gifted poets raise their voices to acknowledge the life and legacy of a celebrated matriarch.

(PRWEB) March 6, 2006 -- The name WillieMae Griffin Lloyd first gained national attention in November 1997 with the publication of “This Mother’s Son,” an essay by the author-poet Aberjhani in ESSENCE Magazine. More recently, the public took note of the well-known matriarch and former civil rights activist upon her death on February 8, 2006, in Savannah, Georgia.
    
“This Mother’s Son” began the story of Aberjhani’s awakening to the responsibilities that would come with him being a caregiver for an aging parent suffering from diabetes, congestive heart failure, and other illnesses. His latest essay completes the circle with the story of his mother’s passing in “Visions of the Poets: Journey through ‘Universes Beyond the Visible.’” The first part of this essay can be found at http://www.authorsden.com/Aberjhani and the second part on the OneLight web site at http://www.onelightpublishing.com/ .
    
“Writing this particular story is not something I had ever planned on doing,” said Aberjhani, “but there are some stories we have to write before we’re able to write anything else. And this was one of mine.”
    
The poet’s mother’s life was also documented in the famous poem, “Return to Savannah.” The author’s spoken-word performance of this poem was included on the 1996 DISCOVER SAVANNAH CD-Rom and the poem itself published the next year in The Savannah Literary Journal. It later gained further recognition when featured in Hill Street Press’ historical anthology, Literary Savannah. In 2005, an international audience took note of the poem upon its publication on the popular web site, The Black Skylark Z-Ped Music Player (http://www.authorsden.com/Aberjhani).
    
“Audience responses to that poem always stun me,” said Aberjhani. “That let’s me know they’re moved as much by the spirit of WillieMae Griffin Lloyd herself as they are by the energy of the poem. Because of the poem and the essay in ESSENCE, I knew people were aware of her. So to let them know she had passed, I posted the poem ‘WillieMae Sketched in Years of Blue’ on the night of her death. What I didn’t realize was that other writers would post their own poems over the 24 hours that followed.”
    
Among those poems posted by fellow writers to acknowledge the life and legacy of WillieMae Griffin Lloyd were: “Queen of Kings,” by Cynth’ya Lewis Reed; “Senryu Chain (5/7/5): I Did Not Know Her,” by Karla J. Dorman (The Stormspinner); and, “This Mother’s Son in Starlight,” by Nordette Adams.
    
In addition to the previously mentioned works by Aberjhani, he is the co-author (with Sandra L. West) of ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE; author of I MADE MY BOY OUT OF POETRY; and editor/author of THE WISDOM OF W.E.B. DU BOIS.

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