10 Things to Remember about Author Maya Angelou

[Omaha Steve]

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140528/maya_angelou-10_things_to_remember-1c4f5d8d78.html

Ten things to remember about poet and writer Maya Angelou, who died Wednesday at age 86:

1. HOW SHE GOT HER NAME
"Maya" was a childhood nickname bestowed upon her by her brother. "Angelou" was inspired by the last name of her Greek-American first husband, Tosh Angelos.


In this March 29, 2002 photo, Maya Angelou speaks at her home in Winston-Salem, N.C. Angelou, a Renaissance woman and cultural pioneer, has died, Wake Forest University said in a statement Wednesday, May 28, 2014. She was 86. (AP Photo/Winston-Salem Journal, David Rolfe)


2. SHE WAS IN LOVE WITH LANGUAGE, BUT SPENT YEARS IN SILENCE
After being raped by her mother's boyfriend at age 7, she stopped talking, because she thought her words had led to his death (the man was found beaten to death shortly after being sentenced to prison).

3. HOW SHE LEARNED TO USE HER VOICE AGAIN
A family friend, Mrs. Flowers, took Angelou under her wing and gave her poems to memorize and recite. She was writing her own poems by age 9.

FULL story at link.

[Sissyk]

1. Thank you for this thread, Omaha Steve!

In the midst of all the hatred, anger, bitterness, and divisiveness we've seen here on DU today, this is a bright shining light.

This still sticks in my mind.

Reverend Martin Luther King

The great soul
Flew from the Creator
Bearing manna of hope
For his country
Starving severely from an absence of compassion.

Martin Luther King

The Great Spirit,
Came from the Creator
Proffering a sparkling fountain of fair play
To his country
Parched and deformed by hate.

The whole man came forth
With a brain of gentle wisdom
To persuade quiet
Upon the loud misery of the mob.

A whole man stood out
With a mellifluous voice
To bind the joints of cruelty.

A whole man came
In the midst of a murderous nightmare
Surrounded by demons of war
He dared to dream peace and serenity

With a heart of faith
He hoped
To resurrect his nation.

I open my mouth to the Lord,
And I won’t turn back.

Martin Luther King

Faced the racial
Mountain of segregation and
And bade it move.

The giant mound of human ignorance
Centuries old
And rigid in its determination
Did move, however slightly, however infinitesimally,
It did move.

I will go, I shall go
I’ll see what the end will be.

Martin Luther King

Brought winds of healing
To his country
Reeling unsteady
With the illness
Of racial prejudice,
Screams of vulgarity
Could not silence him.

Fire bombs and dogs
Could not take his voice away

Ona my knees,
I told God how you treated me
Ona my knees.

He knew himself
A child of God
On a mission from God, and
Standing in the hand of God.
He spoke to the hideous hearts
And to the bitter monstrosities
And asked them to transform
Their ways and thereby
Liberate his country.

Representing the grace of heaven
He spoke to the evils of Hell
Representing gentleness
He sang to brutes.

He brought the great songs of faith
Persuading men and women
To think beyond
Their baser nature.

Lord, don’t move your mountain,
Just give me strength to climb it.

He hummed the old gospels
Encouraging the folk to act
Beyond their puny selves.

You don’t have to move
That stumbling block,
Lord, just lead me around it.

Leader to those who would be led
And hero to millions.

Martin Luther King

Was father to
Yolanda,
Martin, III,
Dexter, and,
Bernice.

He was lover
Friend, and
Husband
To
Coretta Scott King.

He spoke respectfully
Of the Torah.
He spoke respectfully
Of the Koran.

In India, walked in the footprints
Of Mohandas Mahatma Gandhi.

Christianity made him patient
With all religions
And his tremendous heart
Made him believe
That all people
Were his people

All creeds and cultures
Were comfortable in
His giant embrace
And all just causes
Were his to support and extol
Through sermons and allocutions
With praise songs and orations

He preached fair play and serenity
From hand cuffs and prison garb
From leg irons and prison bars

He taught triumph over loss
And love over despair
Hallelujah over the dirges and
Joy over moaning.

Fear not, we’ve come too far to turn back
We are not afraid, and

We shall overcome
We shall overcome
Deep in my heart
I do believe
We shall overcome
Someday.

© 2011 by Maya Angelou

[Sissyk]

2. I forgot K&R.

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 ~

[Sissyk]

3. Is this all we get for this great woman?

Another quote I love

If you have only one smile in you,
give it to the people you love.
Don't be surly at home, then go out in the street
and start grinning 'Good morning' at total strangers.

~ Maya Angelou ~

[Tsiyu]

4. I am in tears

How I loved her so

My condolences to her family and friends.