If you could meet a historical figure, who would it be and why?

Edgar and Maya

If I could pull up a chair and pour a cup of tea for any two historical figures, my choice would land squarely on the paradoxical pairing of Edgar Allan Poe and Dr. Maya Angelou.

​Edgar Allan Poe: The Voice in the Darkness

​Poe would be my first guest. Growing up, there was a profound sadness, a weight that I carried. I found a strange, compelling solace in his poetry. It wasn’t just beautiful writing; it was a way of expressing the deep, inexpressible sorrow of my young life. He gave language to the loneliness.

• ​Why Poe? I would want to ask him about the genesis of his melancholy. Did he know the impact his explorations of grief and the macabre would have on generations of lonely souls?
• ​The Poems: Alone felt like a mirror, affirming that my difference was real, while The Raven was a dramatic, powerful catharsis for a young mind grappling with sorrow. He made profound sadness feel like high art.

​Maya Angelou: Rising from the Silence

​As I grew older, however, I needed more than just validation of my pain; I needed a path through it. That’s when I discovered the story of Maya Angelou. The profound power of her silence, how she stopped speaking for years after a trauma, and her eventual, monumental re-emergence as one of the most resonant voices of the 20th century, is one of the most powerful narratives of self-reclamation.

• ​Why Angelou? I would simply sit and listen. I would thank her for showing that finding your voice, and sometimes, the power in not speaking, is a process of deep internal strength.
• ​The Poem: Her masterpiece, Still I Rise, isn’t just a poem; it’s a blueprint for survival. It’s the defiant, beautiful opposite of Poe’s despair, teaching me that even after being “trod in the very dirt,” the spirit can and will soar.

​My Poetic Process: The Journey from Grief to Grace

​In a way, my own poetry is a combination of these two monumental figures. My writing is a journey that starts from a place of Poe-like vulnerability, sorrow, depression, hurt, and brokenness, and works its way through the darkness to find the light of Angelou’s resilience.

​The process is one of alchemy: taking the heavy, dark emotions and refining them until they become fuel for healing, restoration, and ultimately, resilience. I believe the strongest poetry doesn’t just describe pain; it describes getting through it.

​The Contrast and The Hope

​Poe and Angelou represent the two poles of my journey: The validation of childhood sorrow and The adult realization of triumphant strength. Poe met me where I was, in the shadows. Angelou showed me where I could go, into the light.

​If I could share a cup of tea with them, it would be a celebration of both the pain that shaped me and the power that ultimately set me free.