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Sarasota News Leader September 6, 2013 Page 37 Mason tells The Sarasota News Leader she's been composing verse for years. She began writing poetry as a single mother as a way to relieve stress, and she's even considered trying to have her work published. "I thought about maybe publishing one day to share my poetry with the world because I write based on experiences I've had," she says, "and so I want to share it in the hopes of helping somebody somewhere. That's why I write." on violence. She was too young at the time of the Alabama bombing to be fully aware of its significance and meaning. She only recently dug deep into the event. Mason's favorite poet is Maya Angelou, perhaps most famous for her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. The work Mason will be reading Tuesday includes a piece about the murder of the four Birmingham girls, as well as other works that touch After the Reverberations portion of Tuesday's program, participants will issue a "challenge to all of us to remember the power of the Civil Rights Movement and to courageously act out against injustice," notes Gaines. The event will then open up to the audience members, "I did some research and read about where it happened, how it happened, and it was just so moving," she says. "Four innocent little girls in Sunday school of all places. In Sunday school." The 16th Street Baptist Church in 2005. Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons.