Maya Angelou

Varin S.

March 3, 2023

When I was 8 years old, I heard my older brother practice the poem, “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou for his High School theater class. As I heard the lyrics with the various inflections and tones in my brother’s recitation practice, I was mesmerized by the poem’s beauty and rhythm. It was my first dose of serious literary poetry. Sensing my interest, my mom told me about Maya Angelou and what the lyrics of the poem meant. That was 7 years ago, yet the poem and its deep meaning conveyed so simply and beautifully has stayed with me. As the world celebrates African American history month in February and Women’s history month in March (whose 2023 theme is “Celebrating Women who Tell Stories”), it makes perfect sense to celebrate Maya Angelou who was an epitome of African American history, women's empowerment, literary excellence and social justice.

Maya Angelou was an accomplished American author and poet and civil rights activist. She was born on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, and died on May 28, 2014, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Although Angelou faced many obstacles and challenges throughout her life, including childhood trauma, racism, and sexism, she overcame all these difficulties and used her experiences and talents to emerge as a powerful and evocative writer, poet and social activist. Maya’s literary legacy includes her many books of poetry, essays, and memoirs, which have been read and loved by millions of people around the world. She also wrote numerous books for children. Angelou's best-known work, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" (1969) is considered a classic of African-American literature and has helped to shape conversations about race, gender, and identity in America.

Angelou was a vocal advocate for justice and equality throughout her life. She was also proud of her role as a civil rights activist and her work with figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Angelou was fearless in her pursuit of justice and equality and believed in the importance of using her platform and her voice to promote equality and freedom for all people. She spoke out against racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression and used her creativity and activism to make the world a more compassionate and just place for everyone.

Some lesser-known facts about Maya include that she was the first Black female cable car conductor in San Francisco when she lived there in the early 1950’s. She also attended high school in San Francisco. She was also a world-class cook and published many cookbooks. She was an accomplished calypso singer and dancer and recorded numerous music albums. Maya was also the first black woman to write a screenplay: the film "Georgia, Georgia," which was produced in 1972. She was the first Black woman to direct a major motion picture ("Down in the Delta") in 1998. She wrote and recited a poem, "On the Pulse of Morning," at President Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993, becoming the first African American and the first woman to do so since Robert Frost did so for President John F. Kennedy in 1961.

Maya Angelou was a powerhouse of talent and she used her voice to uplift and inspire others and make a positive difference in the world. She received numerous awards and honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2010), the National Medal of Arts (2000), and three Grammy Awards for her spoken word albums. Her hard work and resilience throughout her life and her work on activism have inspired millions of people to stand up for what they believe in and make the world a better place.

Below are the lyrics of Maya’s famous inspirational poem, “Still I Rise” from And Still I Rise: A Book of Poems.

Source: The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou (1994). The poem focuses on hope, resilience and survival especially against oppression and injustice and uses a determined and powerful voice to convey these themes.

Still I Rise

By Maya Angelou

You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may trod me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?

Why are you beset with gloom?

’Cause I walk like I've got oil wells

Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,

With the certainty of tides,

Just like hopes springing high,

Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?

Bowed head and lowered eyes?

Shoulders falling down like teardrops,

Weakened by my soulful cries?

Does my haughtiness offend you?

Don't you take it awful hard

’Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines

Diggin’ in my own backyard.

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.

Does my sexiness upset you?

Does it come as a surprise

That I dance like I've got diamonds

At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame

I rise

Up from a past that’s rooted in pain

I rise

I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I rise

Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear

I rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,

I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise