Posted on 04/17/2007 5:52:13 PM PDT by subbob
“We are Virginia Tech. We are sad today and we will be sad for quite awhile. WE are not moving on, we are embracing our mourning. We are Virginia Tech. We are strong enough to know when to cry and sad enough to know we must laugh again. We are Virginia Tech. We do not understand this tragedy. We know we did not deserve it but neither does a child in Africa dying of AIDS, but neither do the invisible children walking the night to avoid being captured by a rogue army. Neither does the baby elephant watching his community be devastated for ivory; neither does the Appalachian infant in the killed in the middle of the night in his crib in the home his father built with his own hands being run over by a boulder because the land was destabilized. No one deserves a tragedy. We are Virginia Tech. The Hokier Nation embraces our own with open heart and hands to those who offer their hearts and minds. We are strong and brave and innocent and unafraid. We are better than we think, not quite what we want to be. We are alive to the imagination and the possibility we will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears, through all this sadness. We are the Hokies. We will prevail, we will prevail. We are Virginia Tech. "
I can not help but supress the urge to say something like YOU ARE AN IDIOT. The poet lauertrix of the “Natit” is just plain Dumb. If this person is anyones idea of a poet or for that matter one even capable of rational thought, I laugh , I slap my thigh, I split my gut!
Why was Cho older than the typical college student? Did he miss out on some earlier schooling?
I don’t believe that she was equating yesterday’s tragedy to other tragedies. I think her point was merely that no one deserves tragedy but we must all heal from tragedy.
Give me a friggen break. If she was a white woman, she would have been booed off the stage.
The only thing she has going for her is that she is a blond nappy headed ho.
I have read some of her poetry. It is crap.
For her to be on the VT faculty is a disgrace.
It appears like she has fooled a lot of people, but not you.
Early in her career she was dubbed the “Princess of Black Poetry,” and over the course of more than three decades of publishing and lecturing she has come to be called both a “National Treasure” and, most recently, one of Oprah Winfrey’s twenty-five “Living Legends.”
Many of Giovanni’s books have received honors and awards. Her autobiography, Gemini, was a finalist for the National Book Award; Love Poems, Blues: For All the Changes, and Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea were all honored with NAACP Image Awards. Blues: For All the Changes reached #4 on the Los Angeles Times Bestseller list, a rare achievement for a book of poems. Most recently, her children’s picture book Rosa, about the civil rights legend Rosa Parks, became a Caldecott Honors Book, and Bryan Collier, the illustrator, was given the Coretta Scott King award for best illustration. Rosa also reached #3 on The New York Times Bestseller list.
Giovanni’s honors and awards have been steady and plentiful throughout her career. The recipient of some twenty-five honorary degrees, she has been named Woman of the Year by Mademoiselle Magazine, The Ladies Home Journal, and Ebony Magazine. She was tapped for the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame and named an Outstanding Woman of Tennessee. Giovanni has also received Governor’s Awards from both Tennessee and Virginia. She was the first recipient of the Rosa L. Parks Woman of Courage Award, and she has also been awarded the Langston Hughes Medal for poetry. She is an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and has received Life Membership and Scroll from The National Council of Negro Women. A member of PEN, she was honored for her life and career by The History Makers. She has received the keys to more than two dozen cities.
The author of some 30 books for both adults and children, Nikki Giovanni is a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
You know how a baseball player comes out of the dugout after running in a home run....and the crowd is cheering, so he steps out of the dugout, turns and raises his arms above his head and waves???
That is what she did...
Looks like you failed, Cochese.
The poet lauertrix of the “Natit” is just plain Dumb. If this person is anyones idea of a poet or for that matter one even capable of rational thought, I laugh , I slap my thigh, I split my gut!
I see. You've read her then, right? Read through her work and decided that she wasn't your cuppa? Or have you just gone and butchered the English language for nothing?
I know you were close to this terrible event. Hope you’re bearing up well, and prayers for all concerned.
You must be black, otherwise you wouldn’t be permitted to use such language.
yeah..those are my opinions.
You are are entitled to yours...but that doesn’t make mine wrong.
When your kids fell and hurt themselves..did you even give them a bandaid??
Why do you say that? Her poem wasn't awesome, but the kids seemed to like it.
The only thing she has going for her is that she is a blond nappy headed ho.
That, and 30 books to her name, and a pile of literary awards, and honors from both the state of Tennessee and the state of Virginia, and keys to over a dozen cities.
I have read some of her poetry. It is crap.
What did you read?
For her to be on the VT faculty is a disgrace.
Virginia Tech doesn't seem to be embarrassed about it.
I liked it too, and her audience definitely seemed to like it. It seemed quite appropriate for the situation.
A nappy headed po(et).
Her speech was hopelessly obtuse and devoid of true compassion. But she sounded good.
No, the baby elephants have to watch as the ivory hunters destroy their communities.
I gave it a pass in the other thread because that thread was for the event.
But even I, who was quite deferential and protective of the other thread, felt oddly uncomfortable with the hokie cheer at the end. It’s one thing to have unity, but the cheer just seemed like a cheer.
If they had sung the hokie song, that would have been better I think.
I’m not going to fault them for the cheer though. It was my own discomfort, not theirs.
I re-watched parts of this and got a real laugh out of budhist chick.
It seems to me that anyone with more than a 6th grade education would be able to understand what she was saying.
Yes, I did but I had a daughter. My parents raised three boys. We had our share of fights, broken bones, cuts, stitches, and bruises. My mother was an RN who treated us often. The rule was no crying when we were hurt or we would get something to really cry about. They prepared us well for life in peace and in war. And they both died with a toughness and dignity that I can only hope to emulate. They were the children of the Great Depression and WWII. They don't make them like that any more. And our country is the poorer for it.
Note that her poem didn’t say they were moving on, but rather that they were taking the time to grieve. In an upbeat way she told the students that there was a time to mourn, and that time was now, and it was OK to reflect on their own loss and grief before moving on to closure.
I could have done without the 2nd verse with all the other “tragedies”, but I guess that’s why I’m not a world-renowned poet. That or my skin color.
“Incidentally, the sullen lunatic who murdered all these people was not college material; his writing is so appallingly bad that he should never have made it through any year in college, anywhere in the country, at any time in American history. But he was obviously passed along for years without the slightest hint of any talent whatsoever; no one gave him the rightful F he deserved because there are obviously no standards left. The same English department at VT that idolizes a phony like Ms. Giovanni was the same department who allowed the author of “Richard McBeef” to get as far as senior year. Sigh”
is it true he was about to graduate with a 4.0?
If it’s true, they didn’t just fail to give him an F....they gave the impression he was excelling.
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