Poetry inspires new multimedia musical

A New York-based composer-musician and a University of Kansas professor hope to renew public interest in the late poet and author Margaret Walker - once described as "the most famous person nobody knows."

Walker is best known for her 1937 poem, "For My People," which the New York Times noted became an anthem of the civil rights movement, and her 1966 historical novel, "Jubilee," based on stories of her maternal great-grandmother's survival as a plantation slave. Born in 1915 in Alabama, Walker published her first poem at age 15 and continued publishing until her death in 1998.

Composer Randy Klein, whose work has won both Emmys and gold records, and professor of English Maryemma Graham, who founded and directs the Project on the History of Black Writing at KU, have collaborated to create a new multimedia musical work titled "Lineage: The Margaret Walker Song Cycle."

The Midwestern debut of the musical took place last spring at KU's Hall Center for the Humanities. This month, it will be performed for a second time at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va.

By 2015, the year Walker would have turned 100, the composer and the professor envision a major concert for the 12 poems selected.

“You can hear the musical meter when you read her poems. These poems were crying out to be set to music and not just spoken.”

— Composer Randy Klein

"At that point, Margaret Walker is going to be on the map," Klein says.

He has composed music for 10 of 12 poems selected for the song cycle. In addition, Klein is composing music for Walker's most famous poem, "For My People," a classical piece in 10 sections set to premiere at James Madison University in spring 2011.

"Margaret Walker came from a musical family," Klein says. "You can hear the musical meter when you read her poems. These poems were crying out to be set to music and not just spoken."

Sharing Walker's poetry with the public through the musical is a fitting way to honor her legacy, says Graham, who, as an emerging scholar of black writing, worked alongside Walker in the 1980s in Mississippi. Graham was editor for two of Walker's later books and has written a biography of Walker to be published in 2011.

"Walker believed that poetry was not confined to academic spaces," Graham says. "Thus, she spoke to public gatherings and was known for her lively performances of folk ballads, many of which she wrote herself."

A second KU faculty member is working with Klein and Graham to provide a backdrop of images of Walker and U.S. history from slavery through the 1960s. Madison Davis Lacy, associate professor of film and media studies, worked with two KU students to produce a visual complement for the KU performance.

It was Lacy who provided Klein with his first connection to Walker's work and introduced him to Graham. Klein has composed music for many of Lacy's films, including a documentary on the writer Richard Wright, a contemporary and colleague of Walker. Lacy interviewed Walker for the film. In 1988, Walker published "Richard Wright, Daemonic Genius: A Portrait of the Man."

Klein describes the song cycle's evolution as "a little magical and definitely serendipitous." A line from Walker's poem, "Lineage," caught his eye while he was riding on a Manhattan subway.

A poetry-in-motion placard read: "My grandmothers were strong, why can't I be like they?"

The words resonated with the composer. Days later, Klein saw the poetry on the subway again and copied the phrase in a notebook. He took the words home and composed the first of the tone poems in the cycle.

"I had no purpose in mind, I just thought I would write it," Klein recalls.

Months later in a conversation with Lacy, Klein said he wanted to read more of Walker's poetry. The filmmaker recommended an anthology of her poems, "This Is My Century: New and Collected Poems" (1989), and advised, "You need to talk to Maryemma Graham at the University of Kansas. She's a leading authority on Margaret Walker."

Graham met with Klein in New York, listened to the five tone poems he had completed, learned of his plans to write more and, like Klein, recognized an opportunity to revive interest in Walker's legacy. Graham offered to provide support through the Project on the History of Black Writing.

Klein has contracted with three vocalists who can perform the work and is making it available for performances at universities, churches, museums and other settings. To learn more about scheduling a performance, contact Klein by calling (212) 580-9065 or e-mailing randyklein@att.net.

By Mary Jane Dunlap