Thursday 29 May 2014

"Audacious Sunlight": Maya Angelou 1928-2014



Maya Angelou reciting her poem 'On the Pulse of Morning' at President Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993. Office of the White House, PD-USGOV-POTUS


Maya Angelou, the great American author, poet and civil rights activist, has died at the age of 86.

I have yet to read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and I have only read some of her poetry, but when I heard about her death today I thought of the performance of 'Still I Rise' which I saw a couple of years ago at a poetry-speaking competition. The girl who had chosen that poem recited it with relish and passion, and it provides a wonderful snapshot of this iconic writer's spirit. You have only to look online today to see how much she meant to how many people.

Here's another poem which I read and appreciated today, and which was new to me. It is dedicated to Angelou's brother Bailey, who died in 2000.

KIN (Maya Angelou)


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