Calista Nkechi Agoha

Calista Nkechi Agoha

Literary Scholar–Writer
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EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH

What This Resource Is

This guide is designed for community groups, NGOs, educators, and facilitators who wish to use short literary texts as a starting point for reflection, dialogue, and shared inquiry.

Literary reading in this context does not require formal academic training. Instead, it invites participants to listen closely to language, reflect on experience, and engage with one another through guided discussion.

This resource can be used in community centres, workshops, classrooms, reading groups, or outreach programs that value thoughtful conversation and collective reflection.

How to Use This Guide

Recommended group size:
5 to 20 participants

Session length:
60 to 90 minutes

Materials needed:
Printed copies of the reading text
Pens or notebooks
A quiet space for discussion

Role of the facilitator:
The facilitator’s role is not to interpret the text for participants, but to guide discussion, encourage listening, and create a respectful space for multiple perspectives.

There are no right or wrong answers. Reflection and dialogue are central to this session.

Reading Text

Maya Angelou (1978)
Excerpt from “Still I Rise”

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?

(Excerpt used for educational discussion and reflection.)

Guided Reflection
First Responses to the Text

Invite participants to sit quietly with the poem before discussion.

  1. What feelings or images come up for you as you listen to these lines?

  2. Which words or phrases stay with you after the reading?

  3. What do you think the speaker is responding to in this poem?

Participants may write brief notes or reflect silently before sharing.

Guided Reflection
Voice, Experience, and Meaning

Facilitate group discussion using these questions.

  1. Who is speaking in this poem, and what kind of voice do they have?

  2. What forms of resistance or strength do you hear in these lines?

  3. How does the poem speak about dignity, survival, or self-worth?

  4. Do different participants connect to the poem in different ways?

Encourage attentive listening and respect for multiple interpretations.

Guided Reflection
Community and Social Context

Guide participants to connect the poem to lived experience.

  1. In what ways do individuals or communities experience being “written down,” silenced, or dismissed?

  2. What does “rising” look like in everyday life, not just in dramatic moments?

  3. How can language, storytelling, or poetry become a form of strength?

  4. What responsibilities do communities have toward voices that are often unheard?

This discussion should remain grounded in reflection, not debate.

Optional Activities

Choose one activity if time allows.

Option 1: Reflection Writing
Ask participants to complete the sentence:
“I rise when…”
They may write one sentence or a short paragraph.

Option 2: Shared Reading
Invite participants to re-read one line from the poem aloud that feels meaningful to them.

Participation is always voluntary.

Closing Reflection

End the session with one final question:

What is one small way we can practice more attentive listening in our daily lives?

Thank participants for their openness and engagement.

About This Resource

This guide was developed as part of an educational outreach initiative focused on making literary reflection accessible beyond formal academic spaces.

The aim is to support dialogue, critical awareness, and shared understanding through simple, carefully chosen texts and guided conversation.

About This Series

This Community Reading Series brings together short literary texts and guided dialogue to create a shared space for reflection, listening, and critical engagement.

The series is designed for community groups, NGOs, libraries, and non-academic settings. It does not require prior training in literature. Instead, it invites participants to reflect on language, experience, and meaning through collective reading and conversation.

Each session centres on a carefully selected literary text and structured discussion.

Series Format

Number of sessions: 4

Session length: 60–90 minutes

Group size: 5–20 participants

Each session includes:

  • A short literary reading
  • Silent reflection
  • Guided group discussion
  • An optional reflective activity

SESSION ONE

Resilience and Self-Assertion
Reading Text

Maya Angelou (1978)

Excerpt from “Still I Rise”

You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I’ll rise.

(Excerpt used for educational discussion and reflection.)

Guided Reflection
  1. What emotions or images stand out to you in these lines?
  2. What challenges or pressures does the speaker seem to be responding to?
  3. What does “rising” suggest in this context?
Community Discussion
  1. In what ways do people experience being diminished or dismissed?
  2. What forms can resilience take in everyday life?
  3. How can language itself become an act of resistance?
Optional Activity

Participants complete the sentence:

“I rise when…”

SESSION TWO

Silence, Speech, and Power
Reading Text

Audre Lorde (1977)

Excerpt from “The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action”

And there are so many silences to be broken.

(Excerpt used for educational discussion and reflection.)

Guided Reflection
  1. What does silence mean in this context?
  2. When is silence imposed, and when is it chosen?
  3. What risks are involved in speaking?
Community Discussion
  1. Whose voices are most often silenced?
  2. What happens when silence becomes habitual?
  3. How can speaking transform both individuals and communities?
Optional Activity

Participants write one sentence beginning with:

“A silence I notice is…”

SESSION THREE

Identity and Being Seen
Reading Text

James Baldwin (1955)

Excerpt from “Notes of a Native Son”

It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.

(Excerpt used for educational discussion and reflection.)

Guided Reflection
  1. What connections do you see between ignorance and power?
  2. How does recognition or lack of it shape identity?
  3. What does it mean to be truly seen?
Community Discussion
  1. How do stories shape how people are perceived?
  2. What happens when stories are ignored or distorted?
  3. How can listening become an ethical responsibility?
Optional Activity

Participants share one word that describes how recognition feels.

SESSION FOUR

Collective Voice and Shared Humanity
Reading Text

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2009)

Excerpt from “The Danger of a Single Story”

The problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete.

(Excerpt used for educational discussion and reflection.)

Guided Reflection
  1. What is a “single story”?
  2. How do incomplete stories shape understanding?
  3. What voices are missing from dominant narratives?
Community Discussion
  1. How can communities resist single stories?
  2. What role does shared storytelling play in understanding one another?
  3. How can listening expand collective imagination?
Optional Activity

Participants share one story they feel is often overlooked.

Closing Reflection

End the series by inviting participants to reflect on the following question:

What does it mean to listen more carefully to ourselves and to others?

Thank participants for their presence, openness, and engagement.