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Shaker, Why Don't You Sing?
Tenderly, joyously, sometimes in sadness, sometimes in pain, Maya Angelou writes from the heart and celebrates life as only she has discovered it. In this moving volume of poetry, we hear the multi-faceted voice of one of the most powerful and vibrant writers of our time. "The wisdom, rue and humor of her storytelling are borne on a lilting rhythm completely her own, the product of a born writer's senses nourished on black church singing and preaching, soft mother talk and salty street talk, and on literature: James Weldon Johnson, Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, Shakespeare and Gorki." -- "The New York Times Book Review."
"Black, bitter and beautiful, she speaks of our survival." -- James Baldwin.
"Black, bitter and beautiful, she speaks of our survival." -- James Baldwin.
44 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1983
14 people are currently reading
594 people want to read
About the author
Maya Angelou
260Ìýbooks14.2kÌýfollowersMaya Angelou was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is 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's series of seven autobiographies focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her life up to the age of 17 and brought her international recognition and acclaim.
She became a poet and writer after a string of odd jobs during her young adulthood. These included fry cook, sex worker, nightclub performer, Porgy and Bess cast member, Southern Christian Leadership Conference coordinator, and correspondent in Egypt and Ghana during the decolonization of Africa. Angelou was also an actress, writer, director, and producer of plays, movies, and public television programs. In 1982, she was named the first Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Angelou was active in the Civil Rights Movement and worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Beginning in the 1990s, she made approximately 80 appearances a year on the lecture circuit, something she continued into her eighties. In 1993, Angelou recited her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" (1993) at the first inauguration of Bill Clinton, making her the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961.
With the publication of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelou publicly discussed aspects of her personal life. She was respected as a spokesperson for Black people and women, and her works have been considered a defense of Black culture. Her works are widely used in schools and universities worldwide, although attempts have been made to ban her books from some U.S. libraries. Angelou's most celebrated works have been labeled as autobiographical fiction, but many critics consider them to be autobiographies. She made a deliberate attempt to challenge the common structure of the autobiography by critiquing, changing, and expanding the genre. Her books center on themes that include racism, identity, family, and travel.
She became a poet and writer after a string of odd jobs during her young adulthood. These included fry cook, sex worker, nightclub performer, Porgy and Bess cast member, Southern Christian Leadership Conference coordinator, and correspondent in Egypt and Ghana during the decolonization of Africa. Angelou was also an actress, writer, director, and producer of plays, movies, and public television programs. In 1982, she was named the first Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Angelou was active in the Civil Rights Movement and worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Beginning in the 1990s, she made approximately 80 appearances a year on the lecture circuit, something she continued into her eighties. In 1993, Angelou recited her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" (1993) at the first inauguration of Bill Clinton, making her the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961.
With the publication of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelou publicly discussed aspects of her personal life. She was respected as a spokesperson for Black people and women, and her works have been considered a defense of Black culture. Her works are widely used in schools and universities worldwide, although attempts have been made to ban her books from some U.S. libraries. Angelou's most celebrated works have been labeled as autobiographical fiction, but many critics consider them to be autobiographies. She made a deliberate attempt to challenge the common structure of the autobiography by critiquing, changing, and expanding the genre. Her books center on themes that include racism, identity, family, and travel.
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September 29, 2024
Shaker Why Don't You Sing? is Maya Angelou's fourth volume of poetry, published in 1983. Early in her writing career, Maya Angelou had begun to alternate the publication of part of her autobiography (which now runs to seven volumes) and a volume of poetry. Many of the poems in this fourth collection focus on themes readers may be familiar with from her previous volumes. These include courage and survival despite threatened freedom, and also defeat, lost love, and disillusionment as hopes and dreams are dashed. Many of them - over half - are love poems of this latter type. There are rare instances of cheeky humour, such as in "The Health Food Diner", but as a collection the overall feel is dark. The nostalgia which is evoked, such as in "A Georgia Song", is bittersweet. And the love poems, such as "Unmeasured Tempo" are inevitably of doomed love, as in this final couplet,
"You did arrive, smiling,
but too late."
All the poems feel very personal. "Amoebaean for Daddy", with its,
"White folks used to stop
My mother
Just to look at me
(All black babies
Are Cute)
is a raw, bitter account which hits a nerve, as so many of her poems do. I well remember thinking this myself as a white child, collecting photos of "Sunny Smiles" and preferring the black babies. But it is shortly followed by "Impeccable Conception", a mischievous and satirical comment on the overblown literature favoured by modern writers of romantic fiction,
"She'd find a hidden
meaning
in every pair of pants"
"Caged Bird", which refers to the first part of her autobiography, is next. This is one of the most powerful poems in this volume,
"But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage"
It reminds the reader of the poet William Blake's famous couplet from his poem, "To See a World..."
"A Robin Redbreast in a Cage
Puts all Heaven in a Rage."
Maya Angelou continues,
"The free bird thinks of another breeze
... he names the sky his own.
But a caged bird stands
on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a
nightmare scream"
...
"for the caged bird
sings of freedom"
The poems are immediate and intimate, often conveying a trapped claustrophobic feeling of desperation, inevitability, impotence and despair, such as in "A Plagued Journey",
"I cannot scream. A bone
of fear clogs my throat"
and in "The Lie",
" ... screams are crowded
in a corner
of my throat"
but whenever the desolation and bitterness threaten to overwhelm, Maya Angelou will throw in a delightfully humorous take on black attitudes, youth, and posturing, such as these lines from "Weekend Glory"
"pawn their souls
to the local banks
Buying big cars
they can't afford
ridin' around town
actin' bored"
...
"My job at the plant
ain't the biggest bet,
but I pay my bills
and stay out of debt.
I get my hair done
for my own self's sake"
...
"And turn away from
worry
with sassy glance"
...
"My life ain't heaven
but it sure ain't hell."
Black identity, and the Black history which has fed into it, is everpresent in descriptions such as this, from "Prescience",
"your black and insolent beauty
and this, from "Family Affairs"
" ... you descend
And step lightly over
My centuries of horror
And take my hand,
Smiling call me
Sister."
Courage and determination, the poet reminds us, are never easy. They are hardwon, and difficult to maintain. In "Changes",
"Confidence, that
popinjay,
Is planning now
To slip away"
And the horrors of history, the memories of the cruel treatment of slaves in the Southern United States, continually rear their ugly heads, such as in "Slave Coffle",
"all the earth is horror
and the dark night long,
Then Before the dawning,
bright as grinning
demons
came the fearful
knowledge
that my life was gone."
and in the final poem,
"my life has turned to
blue."
The dark tones of these poems do not make for easy reading, despite the short lines, enjoyable rhythmic patterns and the sporadic, interjected humour. Yet afterwards, there is a shift. The immediate bitterness, sorrow and despair, seem to recede. And what remains with the reader, is hope and courage. Maya Angelou oozes determination; a belief in the ability of human beings to survive, to achieve liberation, overcome rejection and oppression, and never, ever, be defeated.
"The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom."
...
"My life ain't heaven
but it sure ain't hell.
I'm not on top
but I call it swell
if I'm able to work
and get paid right
and have the luck to be Black
on a Saturday night."
Here is a list of all 28 poems contained in Shaker, Why Don't You Sing?:
Awaking in New York
A Good Woman Feeling Bad
The Health-Food Diner
A Georgia Song
Unmeasured Tempo
Amoebaean for Daddy
Recovery
Impeccable Conception
Caged Bird
Avec Merci, Mother
Arrival
A Plagued Journey
Starvation
Contemporary Announcement
Prelude to a Parting
Martial Choreograph
To a Suitor
Insomniac
Weekend Glory
The Lie
Prescience
Family Affairs
Changes
Brief Innocence
The Last Decision
Slave Coffle
Shaker, Why Don't You Sing?
My Life has Turned to Blue
"You did arrive, smiling,
but too late."
All the poems feel very personal. "Amoebaean for Daddy", with its,
"White folks used to stop
My mother
Just to look at me
(All black babies
Are Cute)
is a raw, bitter account which hits a nerve, as so many of her poems do. I well remember thinking this myself as a white child, collecting photos of "Sunny Smiles" and preferring the black babies. But it is shortly followed by "Impeccable Conception", a mischievous and satirical comment on the overblown literature favoured by modern writers of romantic fiction,
"She'd find a hidden
meaning
in every pair of pants"
"Caged Bird", which refers to the first part of her autobiography, is next. This is one of the most powerful poems in this volume,
"But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage"
It reminds the reader of the poet William Blake's famous couplet from his poem, "To See a World..."
"A Robin Redbreast in a Cage
Puts all Heaven in a Rage."
Maya Angelou continues,
"The free bird thinks of another breeze
... he names the sky his own.
But a caged bird stands
on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a
nightmare scream"
...
"for the caged bird
sings of freedom"
The poems are immediate and intimate, often conveying a trapped claustrophobic feeling of desperation, inevitability, impotence and despair, such as in "A Plagued Journey",
"I cannot scream. A bone
of fear clogs my throat"
and in "The Lie",
" ... screams are crowded
in a corner
of my throat"
but whenever the desolation and bitterness threaten to overwhelm, Maya Angelou will throw in a delightfully humorous take on black attitudes, youth, and posturing, such as these lines from "Weekend Glory"
"pawn their souls
to the local banks
Buying big cars
they can't afford
ridin' around town
actin' bored"
...
"My job at the plant
ain't the biggest bet,
but I pay my bills
and stay out of debt.
I get my hair done
for my own self's sake"
...
"And turn away from
worry
with sassy glance"
...
"My life ain't heaven
but it sure ain't hell."
Black identity, and the Black history which has fed into it, is everpresent in descriptions such as this, from "Prescience",
"your black and insolent beauty
and this, from "Family Affairs"
" ... you descend
And step lightly over
My centuries of horror
And take my hand,
Smiling call me
Sister."
Courage and determination, the poet reminds us, are never easy. They are hardwon, and difficult to maintain. In "Changes",
"Confidence, that
popinjay,
Is planning now
To slip away"
And the horrors of history, the memories of the cruel treatment of slaves in the Southern United States, continually rear their ugly heads, such as in "Slave Coffle",
"all the earth is horror
and the dark night long,
Then Before the dawning,
bright as grinning
demons
came the fearful
knowledge
that my life was gone."
and in the final poem,
"my life has turned to
blue."
The dark tones of these poems do not make for easy reading, despite the short lines, enjoyable rhythmic patterns and the sporadic, interjected humour. Yet afterwards, there is a shift. The immediate bitterness, sorrow and despair, seem to recede. And what remains with the reader, is hope and courage. Maya Angelou oozes determination; a belief in the ability of human beings to survive, to achieve liberation, overcome rejection and oppression, and never, ever, be defeated.
"The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom."
...
"My life ain't heaven
but it sure ain't hell.
I'm not on top
but I call it swell
if I'm able to work
and get paid right
and have the luck to be Black
on a Saturday night."
Here is a list of all 28 poems contained in Shaker, Why Don't You Sing?:
Awaking in New York
A Good Woman Feeling Bad
The Health-Food Diner
A Georgia Song
Unmeasured Tempo
Amoebaean for Daddy
Recovery
Impeccable Conception
Caged Bird
Avec Merci, Mother
Arrival
A Plagued Journey
Starvation
Contemporary Announcement
Prelude to a Parting
Martial Choreograph
To a Suitor
Insomniac
Weekend Glory
The Lie
Prescience
Family Affairs
Changes
Brief Innocence
The Last Decision
Slave Coffle
Shaker, Why Don't You Sing?
My Life has Turned to Blue
April 19, 2019
This is not one of Maya Angelou's better known volumes of poetry and it is more on the pessimistic side than most of her other poetic works, but my first impression of it is that it still a solid volume of poetry. It is a short-length work, but very technically sound. The themes feel like a person in transition from peek power to middle-age, but the poet still is not running on spent power. We still have to look forward to and she would be publishing a lot of prose-work after 1983, but this book is definitely a turning-point for Angelou the poet. A particular favorite/relatable poem from here is "Insomniac":
"There are some nights when
sleep plays coy,
aloof and disdainful.
And all the wiles
that I employ to win
its service to my side
are useless as wounded pride,
and much more painful. "
"There are some nights when
sleep plays coy,
aloof and disdainful.
And all the wiles
that I employ to win
its service to my side
are useless as wounded pride,
and much more painful. "
February 23, 2019
Quem tem seguido o blog nos últimos anos sabe que tenho dado um gás na minha leitura de poesias. O hábito de ler um pouco delas de manhã ajuda muito nisso. Mas às vezes a vida pede poesia ao longo do dia, para suavizar, e é aà que entram os meus livros de poesia em formato para kindle. Grandes salvadores da pátria de um dia ruim ou pesado.
Quem tem seguido o blog nos últimos meses sabe também que finalmente comecei a ler Maya Angelou, uma das poetisas mais importantes dos EUA da segunda metade do século XX e em especial para o movimento negro norte americano. Depois de ler uma espécie de autobiografia dela e um dos seus primeiros livros publicados, resolvi ler mais, e por acaso (ahã) eu tinha Shaker, Why Don't You Sing? no celular.
Eu não costumo fazer o que acabei fazendo com esse livro, pois gosto de ler poesia aos pouquinhos, mas Shaker é viciante. Eu não conseguia parar entre uma poesia e outra, dava sempre vontade de ler mais uma. Não é tão carregado nas questões raciais como Just give me a cool drink, e nem é autobiográfico como Letter to my daughter, é simplesmente Maya Angelou arrasando na poesia.
Com um quê de questões mais existenciais, Shaker é uma delÃcia de ler. Seu único defeito é ser tão curto. O que costuma ser comum em livros de poesia, e normalmente não me incomoda, mas o trabalho Maya está tão bom aqui que eu realmente queria mais.
October 31, 2020
There are books that evoke deeper feelings than others, and
by is one such book. The book is about survival when freedom is at stake, lost love, racism, and defeated dreams. Angelou addresses these issues with confidence and courage; and you can't help but feel pulled towards her creativity by an invincible winch.
Love is a central theme, and the reality of doomed relationships; technically the pain of love. Additionally, Angelou has employed poetic license with ease, some poems sounding more lyrical with simple rhymes. But don't be fooled by the love theme and the simplicity, the poems are as painful as they come, the hurt piercing the heart like a sword.
Love is a central theme, and the reality of doomed relationships; technically the pain of love. Additionally, Angelou has employed poetic license with ease, some poems sounding more lyrical with simple rhymes. But don't be fooled by the love theme and the simplicity, the poems are as painful as they come, the hurt piercing the heart like a sword.
September 6, 2017
Beautiful!
February 12, 2023
Some powerful pieces in this authentic collection. Angelou's lyrics have a music all their own, though her rhyming works here stumble more than they stride.
Read
June 11, 2017Maya Angelou never fails to make me grin, make me feel understood, and make me mourn. I love how wise and humble and proud she is.
December 31, 2016
This was my first Maya Angelou poetry collection or anything, actually. This is the first time I've ever read her work and I loved it and I hope to read more. In fact, I want to study it, not just read. I made a list of my favourite poems out of the 28 in the book: A Good Woman felling Bad, Impeccable Conception, Contemporary Announcement, Prelude to a Parting, To a Suitor, Insomniac, Weekend Glory, The lie and The Last Decision. The poems were varying on themes and yet lyrically powerful and beautiful. Some of the more thematically powerful ones incidentally haven't featured in my list mainly because they were the most mainstream ones and every reader obviously loves them. I also found one very comprehensive review here which was so brilliant, I fell in love with the book more because of that.
November 3, 2021
there are still many things that I can't understand. someday, when I'm wiser maybe I will
July 2, 2023
A while ago, I read Kevin Young's great anthology of Black poetry ("African American Poetry") and found myself entranced by the wide variety of voices contained within. But I was also perplexed, because one poet was not prominently featured. A few of her poems were included, of course, but fewer than I might have anticipated, given her status as a literary figure in American life. I don't know enough about twentieth-century American poetry to authoritatively declare Maya Angelou as "the most well-known poet" of her generation or indeed of the twentieth century, but I'd venture that she is the poet most people have heard of even if they've never read her work. Because of her series of autobiographies and her distinctive, rich voice, Angelou cast a large shadow over the landscape of American literature in her time. So for Young to only feature a couple of her poems in his anthology seemed off.
Turns out, I think he merely meant for me to get a taste for her work, in order to follow through and seek out more of it on my own.
"Shaker, Why Don't You Sing?" is a collection from 1983, and it is fantastic. There are a wide variety of poems in this slim volume, some humorous and some serious, but all capturing the idea of what it means to be Black and female in America. Angelou writes with a fierce but gentle insistence that her voice will be heard, whether she's celebrating what it means to be Black on Saturday nights or what it feels like to cry out for help like a fairy-tale princess but be ignored because you are trapped in a slave ship. The sheer scope, offset by the brevity of the collection, is enough to recommend it to first-time readers alone. This was my first book by Maya Angelou; it will not be my last. Highly recommend it.
Turns out, I think he merely meant for me to get a taste for her work, in order to follow through and seek out more of it on my own.
"Shaker, Why Don't You Sing?" is a collection from 1983, and it is fantastic. There are a wide variety of poems in this slim volume, some humorous and some serious, but all capturing the idea of what it means to be Black and female in America. Angelou writes with a fierce but gentle insistence that her voice will be heard, whether she's celebrating what it means to be Black on Saturday nights or what it feels like to cry out for help like a fairy-tale princess but be ignored because you are trapped in a slave ship. The sheer scope, offset by the brevity of the collection, is enough to recommend it to first-time readers alone. This was my first book by Maya Angelou; it will not be my last. Highly recommend it.
January 31, 2025
"we hate from too much knowing"
- Starvation
"Had I known that the heart
breaks slowly, dismantling itself
into unrecognizable plots of misery,
Had I known the heart would leak,
slobbering its sap, with a vulgar visibility,
into the dressed-up dining rooms of strangers,
Had I known that solitude could stifle the breath,
loosen the joint,
and force the tongue against the palate,
Had I known, yet I would have loved you,
your brash and insolent beauty,
your heavy comedic face
and knowledge of sweet
delights."
-Prescience
" I focus beyond
those cacophonies for
the anthem of your hands and swelling chest, for the perfect harmonies which are
your lips. Yet darkness brings
no syncopated promise. I rest somewhere between the unsung notes of night.
Shaker, why don't you sing?"
- Shaker, why don't you sing ?
"Our summer's gone,
the golden days are through.
The rosy dawns I used to wake with you
have turned to grey,
my life has turned to blue.
The once-green lawns
glisten now with dew.
Red robin's gone,
down to the South he flew.
Left here alone,
my life has turned to blue.
I've heard the news
that winter too will pass,
that spring's a sign
that summer's due at last.
But until I see you
lying in green grass,
my life has turned to blue."
- My life has turned blue
- Starvation
"Had I known that the heart
breaks slowly, dismantling itself
into unrecognizable plots of misery,
Had I known the heart would leak,
slobbering its sap, with a vulgar visibility,
into the dressed-up dining rooms of strangers,
Had I known that solitude could stifle the breath,
loosen the joint,
and force the tongue against the palate,
Had I known, yet I would have loved you,
your brash and insolent beauty,
your heavy comedic face
and knowledge of sweet
delights."
-Prescience
" I focus beyond
those cacophonies for
the anthem of your hands and swelling chest, for the perfect harmonies which are
your lips. Yet darkness brings
no syncopated promise. I rest somewhere between the unsung notes of night.
Shaker, why don't you sing?"
- Shaker, why don't you sing ?
"Our summer's gone,
the golden days are through.
The rosy dawns I used to wake with you
have turned to grey,
my life has turned to blue.
The once-green lawns
glisten now with dew.
Red robin's gone,
down to the South he flew.
Left here alone,
my life has turned to blue.
I've heard the news
that winter too will pass,
that spring's a sign
that summer's due at last.
But until I see you
lying in green grass,
my life has turned to blue."
- My life has turned blue
July 28, 2022
One of Maya Angelou’s lesser known poem compilations and for good reason. Not as impactful as the previous one I reviewed but I did pull out some of my favourites. The Health - Food Diner ( comic relief for me ), Family Affairs ( strong message ) and Caged Bird ( wonderful metaphor ) I’m giving this a three star rating because it wasn’t organised like a journey but more like a bunch of poems. Some average, some enjoyable, but not quite working in unison. It had its shares of happy lighthearted verse as well as more serious lines but it was quite an awkward switch from one to another.
March 7, 2025
glorious. haunting. she wields words so deftly and deliberately. 4.5 only because i am not a fan of rhyming poetry most of the time and would’ve rather a few of those (not emotional hard hitters) had been left out so as not to detract from the poignance, candor, and piercing imagery that are essential to the collection. on the other hand, maybe they are there for a reason. will definitely be reading again
June 19, 2021
Fantastic collection! From the soulful and melancholic Caged Bird and The Lie to the fun and light Weekend Glory, this collection travels though an astounding range of humanity. The poem Prescience touched me the most in this moment as a loved one and all of us around them struggle with their addiction.
December 31, 2022
Tendo lido muita prosa de Maya Angelou é sempre um ajuste ler as suas coleções de poesia, mas a voz mantém-se e as palavras tem o mesmo efeito.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 21, 2025
'The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.'
.
.
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.'
.
.
May 17, 2020
"Shaker, why don't you sing? " de Maya Angelou
Citită în 17 mai.
Număr de pagini: 44.
Acest volum de poezie are ceva diferit în el. Ceva atractiv. O sinceritate, o sensibilitate și o minte limpede care se strălucesc în spatele acestor poeme simple și minunat scrise.
Nota: 10.
Citită în 17 mai.
Număr de pagini: 44.
Acest volum de poezie are ceva diferit în el. Ceva atractiv. O sinceritate, o sensibilitate și o minte limpede care se strălucesc în spatele acestor poeme simple și minunat scrise.
Nota: 10.
June 9, 2020
'The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.'
.
.
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.'
.
.
March 2, 2021
I’d never read any Maya Angelou before, but a friend somehow scored a 1st edition for my Christmas gift. It wasn’t my favorite poetry i’ve ever read, but it was really good. I would definitely recommend it to others.
September 10, 2023
Great, pure poetry. I don't know what else to say. I've long been a distant fan of the works of Maya Angelou, but I never cared enough to write a review. Until today. I read this in about thirty minutes, the perfect time to savor every word. Amazing and beautiful. Worth the read.
May 2, 2024
Aunque el libro tiene algunos pasajes oscuros o cómicos buenos, ningún poema es redondo, memorable o consiguió atraparme por completo, y el poemario tampoco se siente orgánico sino casi como una antologÃa de poemas sueltos. Muy por debajo de sus otros libros.
January 26, 2025
rating: 3.75
there were some great poems in this but i feel like thematically it was hard to connect the narratives. i liked the nature elements and anthropomorphism. great “fast� sit-in-the-public-library afternoon read!
there were some great poems in this but i feel like thematically it was hard to connect the narratives. i liked the nature elements and anthropomorphism. great “fast� sit-in-the-public-library afternoon read!
May 2, 2020
Oh, how lovely it is
June 2, 2021
Beautiful as always.
April 17, 2022
My favorites:
-a Georgia song
- caged bird
- plagued journey
- martial choreograph
- weekend glory
- family affairs
- changes
- my life has turned to blue
-a Georgia song
- caged bird
- plagued journey
- martial choreograph
- weekend glory
- family affairs
- changes
- my life has turned to blue
December 28, 2024
Lovely and shot book, had a nice rhythm
The book was an easy read and the imagery and words were amazing.
The book was an easy read and the imagery and words were amazing.
February 6, 2025
felt a strong sense of pessimism and it was so needed.
January 18, 2014
This book of Angelou's poetry is more alive than her earlier works. There's more resolution and focus in these poems. We venture from her earlier Africa to the American south. There is more jazz and bop present in these poems that encounter daddy-issues, eviction notices, and wild weekends. One of my favorite poems was "Impeccable Conception" where a poet finds beauty to write about it, just as joyfully as those who find beauty and live it.
May 31, 2011
This is Angelou’s fourth book, and the second in which she is a really great poet. I’m especially impressed by those reveling in her sexuality, looking cynically on relationships, celebrating African-American cultural motifs, and those most deeply from the heart. Not everything resonates for me, still, this is a book to recommend without reservation.
April 11, 2017
Although not quite as amazing as And Still I Rise, this is another strong collection. I enjoy any collection that feels as though it's meant to be read all in one sitting, but this also brings with it the bonus joy of Maya Angelou's voice in my head as I read. Even the most distressing poems invoke a soothing calm.
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