Maya Angelou
American poet, memoirist, civil rights activist, and one of the defining literary voices of the late twentieth century. Born in 1928 in St. Louis, she lived through years of mute silence after childhood trauma, then through dancing, singing, journalism, and revolutionary work — corresponding with Malcolm X in Ghana, working on the Selma to Montgomery March with King — before her seven-volume autobiography (beginning with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in 1969) made her one of the most-read American writers. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010, recited On the Pulse of Morning at Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993, and produced poetry — Phenomenal Woman, Still I Rise — that has become contemporary scripture for several generations of readers. She died in 2014 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
118
quotes in library
Quotes by Maya Angelou
118 quotes“In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats so you can know who you are.”
defeatLetter to My Daughter
“What you can become is more important than what you have been.”
becomingLetter to My Daughter
“Look back. Don't get stuck there.”
pastLetter to My Daughter
“In every life there is a coming home and a leaving.”
homeLetter to My Daughter
“To know what to do is wisdom. To do it is courage.”
wisdomLetter to My Daughter
“Be careful when a naked person offers you a shirt.”
observationLetter to My Daughter
“In all the meals my grandmother cooked, the most important seasoning was love.”
loveWouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now
“What you bring forth from yourself you will be remembered for.”
legacyLetter to My Daughter
“Let me have the strength to keep on keeping on.”
perseveranceWouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now
“In the long sweep of life, every small kindness counts.”
kindnessLetter to My Daughter
“In every great life there is a moment of recognizing the call.”
callLetter to My Daughter
“Once you make a choice, you live with the choice. So choose well.”
choiceLetter to My Daughter
“You leave home to know the home you came from.”
homeLetter to My Daughter
“Travel is the seasoning of life.”
travelLetter to My Daughter
“There is something glorious in being human.”
humanLetter to My Daughter
“Phenomenal woman, that's you.”
phenomenalPhenomenal Woman
“It's in the reach of my arms, the span of my hips, the stride of my step, the curl of my lips.”
phenomenalPhenomenal Woman
“I'm a woman phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, that's me.”
phenomenalPhenomenal Woman
“On the pulse of this new day, you may have the grace to look up and out.”
pulseOn the Pulse of Morning
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