A huge crowd turned out to hear what the poet and author who goes only by the name Sapphire had to say -- so big that by 10 minutes before her scheduled appearance at 2 p.m., all 600 or so seats in the Michigan Union Ballroom were full and a sign outside said that the talk would be simulcast at two other campus locations. Her novel, "Push," was published in 1995 and was the story on which the recent movie "Precious" was based, so many in attendance had at least a passing familiarity with her work. Enough, at least, to know we wanted to hear more.
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