She told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette she would be watching it on television 'somewhere between crying and praying and being grateful and laughing when I see faces I know.' But a few days before Obama's inauguration, she was clearly overjoyed.
She remained close enough to the Clintons that in 2008 she supported Hillary Rodham Clinton's candidacy over the ultimately successful run of the country's first black president, Barack Obama. Bush, she read another poem, 'Amazing Peace,' at the 2005 Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the White House. Her confident performance openly delighted Clinton and made the poem a best-seller, if not a critical favorite. In 1993, she was a sensation reading her cautiously hopeful "On the Pulse of the Morning" at former President Bill Clinton's first inauguration. The childhood victim of rape wrote a million-selling memoir, befriended Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela and the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., and performed on stages around the world.Īn actress, singer and dancer in the 1950s and 1960s, she broke through as an author in 1970 with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which became standard (and occasionally censored) reading, and was the first of a multipart autobiography that continued through the decades. The young single mother who performed at strip clubs to earn a living later wrote and recited the most popular presidential inaugural poem in history. Tall and regal, with a deep, majestic voice, Angelou defied all probability and category, becoming one of the first black women to enjoy mainstream success as an author and thriving in virtually every artistic medium. 'Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.'.'There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.'.'When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.'.'I believe that each of us comes from the creator trailing wisps of glory.'Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. 'One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential.'Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud.'.'You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.'.'My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.'.Felt like we knew her.'Īngelou rose from poverty, segregation and violence to become a force on stage, screen and the printed page and one of the most influential writers in American history.īefore she earned fame as a writer, she struggled as a young woman - working as a fry cook, a nightclub dancer, a performer and even a prostitute. #RIPMayaAngelou The first book I read as a teenager, "I know why the caged bird sings". The world is better because of your voice.' Said New York Mayor Bill De Blasio, whose wife is herself a poet 'Rest in peace, Dr. Rowling tweeted: "'If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be." Maya Angelou - who was utterly amazing.' Her light will be sorely missed,' wrote Pharrell Williams. A brilliant woman who contributed so much to the world.
'Saddened by the news of Maya Angelou's passing. The American public was invited to submit names of iconic women for the programme after a bill put forward by Democrat congresswoman Barbara Lee.Former President Bill Clinton also mourned her death: 'With Maya Angelou's passing, America has lost a national treasure and Hillary and I a beloved friend.' The Angelou quarter is the first in the US Mint’s American Women Quarters programme, which will include the physicist and first female astronaut Dr Sally Ride and Wilma Mankiller, the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, later this year. I’m very proud that these coins celebrate the contributions of some of America’s most remarkable women, including Maya Angelou,” said Janet Yellen, US treasury secretary. “Each time we redesign our currency, we have the chance to say something about our country – what we value, and how we’ve progressed as a society. The author of 36 books – and the recipient of more than 20 honorary degrees – she read her poem On the Pulse of the Morning at Bill Clinton’s 1992 inauguration, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama in 2010. The poet and writer, who died in 2014, was the author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, in which she wrote about the racial discrimination she experienced growing up. Photograph: The Department of Treasury/AFP/Getty Images
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