Angelou, Lear Get Awards In Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) ― Two cultural icons were in Philadelphia Monday night to receive the Marian Anderson Award at the Kimmel Center.
Acclaimed poet Dr. Maya Angelou and distinguished television producer Norman Lear received awards for helping change society through their art and the courage of their convictions.
The dual presentation was a special commemoration of the award’s 10 years of service, reports CBS station KYW-TV. It carries with it a $100,000 prize.
Upon his election in 1992, Bill Clinton — affectionately referred to as the nation’s first black president — asked Angelou to compose a poem and read it at his inauguration. Angelou feels a new poem welling up inside her following Barack Obama’s election, but she does not expect another command performance.
“I’m sure Mr. Obama, president-elect, will have them bring his own poet,” the 80-year-old writer said Friday from her home in Winston-Salem, where she holds a professorship at Wake Forest University. “I was somebody else’s poet.”
Lear’s credits include “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons.”
The Gala Concert, hosted by actress CCH Pounder, featured the Philadelphia Orchestra. At the conclusion of the concert, Gov. Edward G. Rendell and Mayor Michael Nutter presented Angelou and Lear with the 2008 Marian Anderson Award.
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