Maya Angelou 1928-2014

Maya Angelou passed away in her home this morning at the age of 86.

I remember being forced to read, 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" in school, it was love. Her way with words is powerful and inspiring. She was also a survivor, an inspiration to those who have suffered at the hands of another.

She put it in broader terms:
"I am a writer. Every writer is his or her books. Just as every singer is the song, while you're doing it. The dancer is the dance."

Maya Angelou Dies at Age 86



Alone
Lying, thinking
Last night
How to find my soul a home
Where water is not thirsty
And bread loaf is not stone
I came up with one thing
And I don't believe I'm wrong
That nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

There are some millionaires
With money they can't use
Their wives run round like banshees
Their children sing the blues
They've got expensive doctors
To cure their hearts of stone.
But nobody
No, nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Now if you listen closely
I'll tell you what I know
Storm clouds are gathering
The wind is gonna blow
The race of man is suffering
And I can hear the moan,
'Cause nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

-Maya Angelou


Thank you, Dr Angelou for your inspiration and your words!!

Yeah, that was the first thing I saw this morning when I went into my morning coffee/news routine. So sad. Agreed--thank you, Maya Angelou, for your beautiful writing.

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude about it." ~ Maya Angelou

Thank you for your life wisdom.

RIP

a reply to: Jennyfrenzy

I hadn't heard about it yet!
She was one of my favorites!

"I've learned that people will forget what you said.
People will forget what you did.
But people will never forget how you made them feel!"
....Maya Angelou

Thanks for your calm gentleness & wonderful down to earth wisdom!!!
WOQ

Thank you and rest in peace dear Maya. Your words of inspiration will always be remembered.

An amazing human being has passed away. I weep for humanity as we have lost a person who we should be modeling ourselves after, not celebrities. I can only hope that in her death, more people will strive to want to be like her. I hope we never forget Maya Angelou.

Here is a short video of her on the George Stroumboulopulous show talking about her own mortality.

Man. i read some book she wrote back in high school.. then she came on The Simpsons. i was like WTF!


May you reach the astral planes.

A truly wonderful human being. We need more lovely people like her!

a reply to: Jennyfrenzy

I did read "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" off my own back. I think it is one of the most healing works of Literature for people who have been the victim of child abuse, alongside Alice Walker's "The Colour Purple".

God rest your soul a little time, Maya Angelou!

Thank you Jenny for posting this and holding Maya Angelou in such high regard, as I do, too.

Sing Bird, SING!!!

< puts on flame retardant suit >
I didn't care for her poetry much at all, it was quite dull to me. But when she spoke, really spoke without fluffing it up with poetic injections, she was a truly wise force to be reckoned with. I love listening to interviews with her, she was very straightforward and sensible.

RIP Maya.

a reply to: Jennyfrenzy

Hi Jennyfrenzy!
Thank you for posting this, I had not heard.
I'm actually glad I received the news from a member here...it's like hearing it from a friend, instead of the cold hard tv news.
I am truly sad.

She was a great inspiration to me when I was going through tough times.
A true role model.
I hope there is a 'better place' to go to, because she deserves that.

jacygirl

Thank you for posting this beautiful tribute Jenny. The world lost such a beautiful spirit today. R.I.P. Ms. Angelou...Thank You for touching my soul in the sharing of yourself, your words and your heart.

Beloved,
In what other lives or lands
Have I known your lips
Your Hands
Your Laughter brave
Irreverent.
Those sweet excesses that
I do adore.
What surety is there
That we will meet again,
On other worlds some
Future time undated.
I defy my body's haste.
Without the promise
Of one more sweet encounter
I will not deign to die.

~ Maya Angelou

originally posted by: Margana

An amazing human being has passed away. I weep for humanity as we have lost a person who we should be modeling ourselves after, not celebrities. I can only hope that in her death, more people will strive to want to be like her. I hope we never forget Maya Angelou.

I concur completely, and love this interview too, thank you for posting it, Margana.

"I have a chance to show how kind we can be..."

You did just that Ms. Maya, and now you can rest. Blessed be.

a reply to: Jennyfrenzy

many will take offense, but i feel her poetry was overrated. she suffered being continually patronized with insincere praises.

She said many wise words in her lifetime. R.I.P. Maya....

Did you know she was a proud gun owner and user? Thanks to dailykos for bringing it to my attention.

Angelou also emerged very late in life as an off-hand supporter of the right to bear arms.

In a 2013 interview [...] she recounted how she used a gun for home defense:

Did you inherit your mother’s fondness for guns?

I like to have guns around. I don’t like to carry them.

Have you ever fired your weapon?

I was in my house in North Carolina. It was fall. I heard someone walking on the leaves. And somebody actually turned the knob. So I said, “Stand four feet back because I’m going to shoot now!” Boom! Boom! The police came by and said, “Ms. Angelou, the shots came from inside the house.” I said, “Well, I don’t know how that happened.”

www.nationalreview.com...

An absolutely beautiful spirit .

RIP Maya.

I read this book in college and wrote a paper on it. I suppose I could dig around here somewhere and find the paper...but these words I memorized:

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.
—The final stanza of Maya Angelou's poem "Caged Bird"[67]

She was also a civil rights icon.
Rip Queen Mother you served us well thank you.

My 86 year old grandmother died Tuesday morning. She grew up in Alabama during the civil rights movement and it directly affected her and my grandfather's lives and forced them to move to Columbus, Georgia in the 1950's.

While sad, it is comforting to know Maya Angelo and my grandmother passed away so close in time.

a reply to: Jennyfrenzy

A truly beautiful human being has died but through her death more will learn about her wisdom.

Shiloh