International Women's Day 2017
Today is
International Women’s Day. In thinking of what to post here today, I thought about the female writers I have read, what poems have had an influence on me as a writer. I have decided to share some poetry with you that was written by the late Maya Angelou.
I began to read
some of Maya Angelou’s writing as a young woman in school,
beginning with “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” I first saw her recite one of
her own poems, “On the Pulse of Morning”, at the inauguration of Bill Clinton
in 1993. It wasn’t until her passing in 2014 that I began to read her poetry in
earnest. It was then that I had realized what a phenomenal woman the world had
lost.
As a teenager, Maya became the first woman of color to be employed in San Francisco as a trolley car operator. She grew to be a civil rights activist and actress, appearing in the original production of the television miniseries "Roots" in 1977.
She worked with and was influenced by contemporaries of her time, including writers James Baldwin and Paul Dunbar. She was fluent in 5 languages, received over 20 honorary degrees, and won the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010.
She worked with and was influenced by contemporaries of her time, including writers James Baldwin and Paul Dunbar. She was fluent in 5 languages, received over 20 honorary degrees, and won the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010.
Maya Angelou and President Barack Obama in 2010. Image from NBC News
I would like to share a few of the poems and readings by Maya Angelou. First is her poem, “Phenomenal
Woman":
(The video below is Maya reciting the poem. Text of the poem is below.)
Pretty women wonder
where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built
to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to
tell them,
They think I’m telling
lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of
my arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you
please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their
knees.
Then they swarm around
me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my
eyes,
And the flash of my
teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my
feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Men themselves have
wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show
them,
They say they still
can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my
back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my
breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Now you understand
Just why my head’s not
bowed.
I don’t shout or jump
about
Or have to talk real
loud.
When you see me
passing,
It ought to make you
proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of
my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need for my care.
’Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
This next poem speaks to the resiliency of womanhood and of the human spirit.
Here is Maya Angelou reciting her poem, "And Still I Rise":
You may write
me down in history
With your
bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod
me in the very dirt
But still,
like dust, I’ll rise.
Does my
sassiness upset you?
Why are you
beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk
like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my
living room.
Just like
moons and like suns,
With the
certainty of tides,
Just like
hopes springing high,
Still I’ll
rise.
Did you want
to see me broken?
Bowed head
and lowered eyes?
Shoulders
falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by
my soulful cries?
Does my
haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you
take it awful hard
‘Cause I
laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my
own backyard.
You may shoot
me with your words,
You may cut
me with your eyes,
You may kill
me with your hatefulness,
But still,
like air, I’ll rise.
Does my
sexiness upset you?
Does it come
as a surprise
That I dance
like I’ve got diamonds
At the
meeting of my thighs?
Out of the
huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a
past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black
ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and
swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving
behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a
daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the
gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the
dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
I leave you now with a video of Maya Angelou reciting a portion of a speech given by Sojourner Truth in 1851, which has come to be known under the title, “Ain’t I a
Woman”:
“That man over there says that women need to
be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and given the best place wherever.
Nobody helps me into carriages, nor over the muddy patches, or gives me any
best place! And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed
and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could best me ever! And ain't
I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could find it
- and take the lash as well! And ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen
children, and seen most of them sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with
my mother's grief, no one but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman?”
For more information on Maya Angelou and her writing, please visit the Caged Bird Legacy website:
I dedicate this blog entry to the memory of the late Maya Angelou, and to the Phenomenal Women around the world.
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