Poet, actress to speak today

In her poem "Phenomenal Woman," Maya Angelou begins by stating "Pretty Women wonder where my secret lies/ I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size." Throughout the rest of the poem, Angelou explains just what makes her a "phenomenal woman" to those she meets.\nStudents will get the chance to make this discovery today when poet, actress and fiction writer Angelou speaks at 7 p.m. at the IU Auditorium. The lecture is sponsored by Union Board and is part of the Indiana Lecture Series through the Office of the President. Doors open at 6 p.m. Nick Hillman, a sophomore and the Union Board lectures director, said tickets for the speech had all been given away by Tuesday morning.\nWhen the tickets were made available last Thursday, Hillman said 500 tickets were taken in the first 15 minutes they were available at the Indiana Memorial Union activities desk.\n"I expected it to sell out," Hillman said. "But it's always nice to know there is a demand; you always worry if something is going to sell out as fast as you think it will."\nAngelou was born April 4, 1928 as Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis. She was raised by her grandmother in segregated rural Arkansas. Her childhood experiences are chronicled in one of her most well-known books, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." Angelou has published 10 best-selling books, the most recent of which is "Even the Stars Look Lonesome." She is also a poet, historian, actress, playwright, civil-rights activist, producer and director. At the request of former President Bill Clinton, she wrote and delivered a poem, "On the Pulse of Morning," at his 1993 inauguration.\nUnion Board and the Indiana Lecture Series, created by IU President Myles Brand to bring influential speakers to campus, started talking about coordinating a lecture about a year ago, said Angela Scott, special projects assistant.\n"We both bring in prominent lecturers or people of interest so we're sort of competing for the same individuals," Scott said. "We're finally getting a chance to (sponsor a lecture together)." \nIn the past, the Indiana Lecture Series has been responsible for bringing speakers such as former secretary of state Warren Christopher, Microsoft head Bill Gates and the Dalai Lama to speak.\nMark Guthier, assistant director of the IMU, said ticket distribution for Angelou's speech has been similar to interest in past Union Board lecturers Mikhail Gorbechav and Colin Powell.\nHillman said Angelou has been on the list of speakers desired by the Union Board lectures committee for the last 12 years. This was the first year Angelou's schedule could be coordinated with the venue dates available at IU. Union Board is spending $17,500 to bring Angelou to IU.\n"She won't be talking about any specific topic," Hillman said. "She'll probably talk about motivation and tell some of her personal stories. She is such a phenomenal woman who has accomplished so much that she's going to be sharing some great stories"