Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou
Maya Angelouwas an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and was credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees. Angelou is best known for her series of seven autobiographies, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, tells of her...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth4 April 1928
CitySt. Louis, MO
CountryUnited States of America
Each of us has that right, that possibility, to invent ourselves daily.
I can see in the acorn the oak tree. I see the growth, the rebuilding, the restoring. I see that is the American psyche. There is so much we can draw understanding from. One of the lessons is the development of courage. Because without courage, you can't practice any of the other virtues consistently.
I will write on the pages of history what I want them to say. I will be myself. I will speak my own name.
To be angry is very good. It burns out things and leaves nutrients in the soil. You should always be ready to be angry at injustice and cruelty.
Prepare yourself so that you can be a rainbow in somebody else's cloud.
There is a kind of strength that is almost frightening in Black women. It's as if a steel rod runs right through the head down to the feet.
Lord keep Your arm around my shoulder and Your hand over my mouth.
Hope is born again in the faces of children.
Laugh and dare to try to love somebody, starting with yourself. You must love yourself first, of course, and you must protect yourself so that nobody overrides you, overrules you, or steps on you. Just say, 'Just a minute. I'm worth everything, dear.'
There is no place where God is not.
It's a wonderful thing to know that there is something to know there is something greater than I am, and that is God itself.
When I was asked to do something good, I often say yes, I'll try, yes, I'll do my best. And part of that is believing, if God loves me, if God made everything from leaves to seals and oak trees, then what is it I can't do?
The Holy Spirit upon my left leads my feet without ceasing into the camp of the righteous and into the tents of the free.
But from a distance. I would have left you whole and wholly for the delectation of those who wanted more and cared less.