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Lucille Clifton back to Tucson,
one of our most distinguished

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American poets.

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Born in Depew, New York, she was
educated at Howard University

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and Manfredonia State College.

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She's the author of
10 books of poetry,

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a family memoir
titled "Generations,"

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and a series of some 20 plus
miraculous books for children.

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Among her honors are the Shelley
Memorial prize, the Juniper

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prize, two NEA fellowships,
the Coretta Scott King award,

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and an Emmy award from the
American Academy of Television

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Arts and Sciences.

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She is the only poet to have
two books in one year become

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finalists for the
Pulitzer Prize.

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Those were "Good Woman: Poems
and a Memoir, 1969 to 1980"

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and "Next: New Poems,"
both published in 1987.

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They were followed by
"Quilting," "The Book of Light,"

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and in 1996, "The
Terrible Stories."

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That last book was a finalist
for the LA Times Book

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Award, the Lenore Marshall
prize, and the National Book

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Award, and came out
last May in England.

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The voice of a poet is what
convinces us to listen and hold

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onto the words of the poem.

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The sense of voice is much more
than the simple physical sounds

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of speech.

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Once heard, poet
John Haines wrote,

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the voice creates the
environment of thought

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and feeling, which we
come to accept and believe

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in as an unmistakable
mark of the poet's work.

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Voice is something
that can only be

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discovered in the act
of living and working,

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and nourished until it
becomes as much a part

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of the person as an arm or leg.

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Whether she is exploring
the legacy of slavery,

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the struggle of body and
soul against illness,

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or the contradictory nature
of our culture's most

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sacred stories,
Clifton's voice is

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that of the human spirit finding
its troubled way from darkness

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into light.

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A voice that mothers us right
to the brink of redemption.

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Please welcome Lucille Clifton.

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[AUDIENCE APPLAUDING]

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Thank you.

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Thank you very much.

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