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.
quotes in library
Quotes by Maya Angelou
108 quotes“Love liberates. It does not bind.”
“Love is liberating. Even if the love is not returned.”
“Be a rainbow in another person's cloud.”
“Develop enough courage so that you can stand up for yourself and then stand up for somebody else.”
“Words are things, I'm convinced.”
“You must be careful what kind of language you keep around your house.”
“Independence is a heady draft, and if you drink it in your youth, it can have the same effect on the brain as young wine.”
“The first time someone shows you who they are, believe them.”
“There is no greater gift than the gift of a willing listener.”
“Whining is not only graceless, but can be dangerous. It can alert a brute that a victim is in the neighborhood.”
“Sister, I'm sorry. Sister, I love you. These are the two strongest sentences in any language.”
“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated.”
“In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats so you can know who you are.”
“What you can become is more important than what you have been.”
“Look back. Don't get stuck there.”
“In every life there is a coming home and a leaving.”
“To know what to do is wisdom. To do it is courage.”
“Be careful when a naked person offers you a shirt.”
“In all the meals my grandmother cooked, the most important seasoning was love.”
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