Today on My Poetic Side we take a look at the art exhibition that is displaying paintings from the home of Maya Angelou. We also have an article about the lack of tributes to the poet Gibran Khalil Gibran in his home country.

The Art That Inspired Maya Angelou

In Overton, Miami, carefully tucked away is the

This building provided a safe place for Native Americans and blacks to stay and sleep during the period of segregation.

It is now a beautifully restored and historically designated building that is being used as a gallery. It seems rather fitting that at the moment it should be used to display the art works that once adorned the walls of the home of the poet Maya Angelou.

The acclaimed poet, activist and storyteller was born three years after the Ward Rooming House was built by Shaddrack and Victoria Ward.

Now it is being used to house and showcase some of the paintings that served as inspiration for her verses. The event is titled

and it will be open during the summer, closing on 3^rd September.

One of the highlights of the exhibition is a number of paintings and drawings by Tom Feelings. He was a friend of the poet for many years and much of his work is inscribed for Angelou.

Should Lebanon do more to Pay Tribute to Gibran Khalil Gibran?

There are a growing number of people who believe that Lebanon should be doing more to pay tribute to the poet Gibran Khalil Gibran. He is one of their most famous poets and his work influenced millions of people all over the world during his lifetime and continues to do so since he passed away.

Such was the poet”s influence on an international level that many countries have their own monuments to him – or streets named for him. Montreal has Rue Khalil Gibran – inaugurated on the occasion of the 125^th anniversary of the poet’s birth in 2008. In Los Angeles, you can visit the Khalil Gibran Memorial Garden. There are hospitals in Venezuela that display quotes from his poetry as well as some of his paintings. But in Lebanon, the poet’s homeland, there is very little other than a few small streets which carry his name.

In August 2014, thanks to the people of Bsharri – the poet’s hometown – and the Gibran National Committee a cultural centre and public gardens were opened in Beirut. But for many, this is simply not enough they would like to see a University building, or a school named in honour of the poet.

Born in January 1883, the poet spent the first 11 years of his life in Lebanon before emigrating with his parents to America. He died in America in 1931 but in accordance with some of his last wishes, his body was returned to the country he referred to as his homeland for burial in 1932.