Artist's Corner
Poet Shares Book with Allen Temple
Published poet Willie Mae Crump signed copies of her book Rhymes for Reasons: A Personal Journey of Prose and Prayer last week for fellow congregants of Allen Temple A.M.E. Church.
Willie Mae Crump will always remember the day in 1972 when she made her friend Clella Pranty cry, perhaps because it was the same day she began to fully understand the true power of her own poetry. As a new bride who was getting ready to move to New Jersey with her husband Lionel, Crump had received the departing gift of a huge dictionary from Pranty, a colleague from the Silver Burdett Publishing Company. "I wrote a Thank You note to her in the form of a poem," Crump said. "And I remember to this very day the last sentence in the poem: 'My experiences may come, and my jobs may vary, but I'll never forget who gave me this beautiful dictionary.'" Crump said she read the note, and tears started streaming down her cheeks. "At that moment, I …
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Tomi Johnson
11:09 am on Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Thomasena Morris Johnson We bought several books and had Sis. Crump autograph for family members. When they read some of the poems, tears welled up in their eyes...truly an emotional gift. Thanks for covering this event. more ›