I’ve been to a lot of library conferences. A lot. And at every one of them, there is at least one speaker, often a keynoter, who feels the need to explain why libraries are ‘relevant’ to their lives. Sometimes it’s something rather juvenile, like “I remember getting my first library card”. I mean, that’s lovely, but it hardly means that you continue to understand the mission and relevance of libraries, or librarianship as a profession. Sometimes it’s simply insulting, like “I know you’re important, but I have no idea why”. Well, gosh, do you think you could maybe have found out at some point after we asked you to speak at our professional conference?

And then sometimes a speaker actually ‘gets it’. Anna Deavere Smith falls in this category. Now, she’s a performer (actress, playwright, writer), and it’s possible she put this ‘shtick’ together before coming, but hey, I’m perfectly happy to appreciate the effort! And she clearly gave it some thought: she described her youth in Baltimore, where, as she put it, segregation was alive and well in many official institutions. The Enoch Pratt Free Library, however, was “a place where segregation was broken”. The library was “a place where somebody said ‘Yes’”.

Her luncheon speech on Tuesday was delightful–witty, heartfelt and, as I say, reasonably relevant. She read excerpts from her work “Letters to a Young Artist”, which is a series of essays in epistolary form, in the tradition of Rilke, wherein she gives advice on the life and business of creation to “BZ”, a fictional, genderless ‘artist’. Like so much of Ms. Smith’s work, the ‘letters’ are well-written, powerful, and thought-provoking. And often funny. I often match her with Maya Angelou in their ability to explain, especially to young women, about the importance of self-esteem, personal courage and the ability to find one’s own power and use it in the world for the greater good.

She also does a mean Studs Terkel impression.