Piece Comment

Review of Maya Angelou & Guy Johnson - Mother and Son Poets become themselves


If there's one person who I would call a dream interview it's the poet, activist, and all out Fabulous Woman of America Dr Maya Angelou. In this programme she double bills with her son Guy Johnson. She was a teenage mother and she brought him up to appreciate poetry, to recognize that the emperor's new clothes were a sham and to love art, life, people and food. They're a fabulous pair and this programme makes for fabulous listening. Whether chatting about poetry and the emotion they feel for it, or abut the several languages they know or about how they feel about each other or about their love of good food Maya Angelou and Guy Johnson are compelling listening. The only small point I would have changed here is have the two interacting a bit more than they do - as it stands, Guy Johnson is up first and is followed by his mother and their interactions are more like interruptions in the interview. But they're so lovely together, it would have been great to give them centre stage together. I would give a lot to have these two as guests at my dinner table, but having them on my radio is almost as good. A must listen.