This month we are highlighting the achievements of two individuals in the Pittsburgh area, Lillian L. Meyers, PhD. a clinical psychologist, and Dr. Samuel John Hazo, the first poet laureate of Pennsylvania.
I had the pleasure of interviewing both of these outstanding individuals for feature articles in other magazines.
They are excellent examples of people who have faced adversity and achieved greatness. Now in their nineties, Lillian and Samuel are treasures we must celebrate, hold dear, and try to emulate.
Lillian Lang Meyers, Ph.D. was born on December 25, 1927, in Georgia. From an early age, Lillian loved sports and she was a free thinker.
She opposed Jim Crow laws and challenged long-accepted stereotypes about women. When she entered college, there were very few women studying psychology. Lillian soon realized the only way she could succeed was to work twice as hard as her male classmates and never accept defeat.
She earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Georgia, a master’s from Duquesne University, and her Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. She met her future husband Robert Meyers when they were both graduate students at Duquesne. Lillian and Bob bonded over their love of sports. They married and had eight children.
Lillian and her husband marched in support of Civil Rights and spoke out against discrimination based on race, gender, ethnicity, or religion.
During her first pregnancy, Lillian was exposed to Measles and her daughter was born with impaired vision. Lillian became a fierce advocate for inclusion in education and encouraged her daughter to live a life without limitations.
Lillian accepted a position at Woodville State Hospital. Her superiors had been forced to hire a woman and they wanted to make sure she failed. She was assigned to the Farm Colony which was comprised of patients who were considered hopeless cases. When she accepted the position there were 70 inmates at the Farm Colony. Many were women who had been institutionalized and forgotten. These women had been neglected. Many were covered in their own feces – treated more like caged animals than human beings. They weren’t receiving psychiatric care. Instead of quitting, Lillian got to work. During her tenure, every patient received the appropriate treatment, and they were able to be released or transferred to regular wards. Thanks to her efforts, the Farm Colony of "hopeless cases" was closed forever.
Lillian became the Director of Treatment at the Mayview Forensic Center and for 12 years, she served as the director of the facility. It was a treatment and evaluation center for mentally ill criminal offenders and those adjudicated Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity.
In 1981, her youngest son, Jimmy was killed at age 17 in a car accident. Lillian became involved with The Compassionate Friends. For over thirty-five years, she was in charge of the program and her husband Bob was a volunteer greeter for the organization.
In 1988, Lillian retired from Mayview and began consulting at The Western Psychiatric Institute as a mentor and role model. She became a certified grief counselor and a Fellow in Thanatology (Death, Dying, and Bereavement). She founded the Grief Training Institute which teaches healthcare professionals and human service agencies how to support individuals dealing with loss, mourning, and bereavement.
Lillian Meters was inducted in the Pennsylvania Honor Roll of Women in 1996. She received the Public Service Award from the Pennsylvania Psychological Association in 2009, and in 2011, she received a Legacy Award from the Greater Pittsburgh Psychological Association.
At 85, she published her first book, I'm Sorry for Your Loss...Hope and Guidance in Managing Your Grief. Meyers speaks candidly about the loss of her son and it's continued impact on her family. The book is dedicated to her son, Jimmy. She offers hope and reassurance to others who have experienced a loss or are trying to help a loved one with the grieving process. Her book is available on Amazon.com.
Dr. Samuel John Hazo was born on July 19, 1928. He is a poet, playwright, fictional novelist, and the founder of the International Poetry Forum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Hazo is also McAnulty Distinguished Professor of English Emeritus at Duquesne University where he taught for 43 years.
He was born to refugee parents. His mother was Lebanese, and his father was an Assyrian from Jerusalem.
His mother died when he was a young child. He and his brother Robert were sent to live with their aunt. She valued education and instilled in young Sam a love of learning while nurturing his interest in writing.
He began writing poetry as an undergraduate student at Notre Dame University where he graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He originally studied law before switching his major to English
From 1950 to 1957, he served in the United States Marine Corps, where he achieved the rank of captain. The Korean War caused Hazo to reflect on his earlier work and take stock of his priorities. His experiences became a pivotal point in his career. He began to write about things that were relevant to his own life such as the importance of family, the futility of war, and the mystery of death.
He became an advocate for peace and a champion of Civil Rights.
Poetry will always have a special place in Dr. Hazo’s life, and he has worked tirelessly to encourage people to read poetry and write poetry. In an interview with The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, he stated, “Poetry speaks to us personally and with absolute sincerity, like a private letter, and we nod and assent to the truth of it as we would to the mention of our very names.”
He convinced The Post-Gazette to publish a poem weekly in its Saturday editions. Dr. Hazo founded the International Poetry Forum, an organization he directed for 43 years, to bring poets to Pittsburgh to “demonstrate the relevance and centrality of poetry to the general public through the oral presentation of poetry.”
In 1993, Governor Robert Casey chose him to serve as the first poet laureate of Pennsylvania. He served in this capacity until 2003.
He and his wife Mary Anne had one son, also named Sam who became a music teacher and is a celebrated composer. After the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Sam Hazo Jr. was asked to compose the memorial for the children and women who had been killed. “Glorifiicare” is a major work for Choir, Orchestra, and Wind Band. He also composed “Bridges” for the students who died in the Virginia Tech shooting and two of his compositions were performed at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Some of Dr. Samuel Hazo’s published works include:
Poetry:
The Holy Surprise of Right Now
Thank a Bored Angel
Jots Before Sleep
As They Sail
And the Time Is: Poems, 1958-2013
The Quiet War
Like a Man Gone Wild
Nightwords
The Color of Reluctance
Listen with the Eye
They Rule the World
Fiction:
The Time Remaining
Stills
This Part of the World
The Wanton Summer Air
The Very Fall of the Sun
Inscripts
Drama:
Feather
Mano a Mano: A Flamenco Drama
Watching Fire, Watching Rain
Solos
Until I’m Not Here Anymore
Essays:
The Power of Less
The Feast of Icarus
Spying For God
The Autobiographers of Everyone
Memoir:
The Pittsburgh That Stays Within Them
Information for this article was taken from my personal notes of previous interviews with Dr. Meyers and Dr. Hazo. Additional information and direct quotes were taken from Wikipedia entries.