 
Memorial
service to celebrate the life of poet June Jordan
10 September
2002
A memorial service celebrating the life of June Jordan, a
University of California, Berkeley, professor, poet and activist,
will be held this Sunday (Sept. 15) in Wheeler Hall auditorium.
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June
Jordan, "Poet of the People" (Jane Scherr
photo) |
Jordan,
an award-winning poet and one of the most published African
American writers in history, died of cancer on June14 at age
65. She founded and directed for 12 years a UC Berkeley course
called "Poetry for the People" that taught undergraduates
to read, write and critique poetry from various cultures.
Jordan's
family has planned the 1. p.m. service, which is being sponsored
by the campus's Department of African American Studies.
The
Wheeler Hall auditorium will accommodate invited family members,
friends, and UC Berkeley faculty, staff and students. Free
tickets for remaining seats will be available on a first-come,
first-served basis starting at noon in front of Wheeler Hall.
The service also will be broadcast live in rooms 145 and 155
of nearby Dwinelle Hall for overflow guests.
Speakers will include UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl;
Jordan's collaborator Adrienne Torf; poets Adrienne Rich,
Cornelius Eady and Janice Mirikitani; activist and author
Angela Davis; poet and writer Sara Miles; scholar Bernice
Johnson Reagon; musician Vicki Randle; and, speaking via videotape,
authors Alice Walker and Toni Morrison.
Also
present will be former "Poetry for the People" students, many
of whom went on to lead "Poetry for the People" workshops
at Berkeley High School, Glide Memorial Church, Dublin Women's
Prison and Bay Area cultural centers.
For more information
about Jordan, see a
Media Relations news release.
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