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You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Maya Angelou has been dear to my heart ever since I read all of her autobiographies. She is the African-American poet who has rightfully become one of the most influential and respected literary voices of this modern age.
Now, Angelou has written a poem praising Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. She is supporting Clinton despite her close friendship with television personality and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey, a prominent backer of rival Democrat Barack Obama, the first black presidential hopeful with a real chance of reaching the White House.
She is the poet that inspired so many at Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993 when she read her poem On the Pulse of the Morning, describing the long awaited dawning of the new day. That was 15 years ago.
Here's the new poem she just wrote for Hillary...
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
This is not the first time you have seen Hillary Clinton seemingly at her wits' end, but she has always risen, always risen, don't forget she has always risen, much to the dismay of her adversaries and the delight of her friends.
Hillary Clinton will not give up on you and all she asks of you is that you do not give up on her.
There is a world of difference between being a woman and being an old female. If you're born a girl, grow up, and live long enough, you can become an old female. But to become a woman is a serious matter. A woman takes responsibility for the time she takes up and the space she occupies. Hillary Clinton is a woman. She has been there and done that and has still risen. She is in this race for the long haul. She intends to make a difference in our country. Hillary Clinton intends to help our country to be what it can become.
She declares she wants to see more smiles in the family, more courtesies between men and women, more honesty in the marketplace. She is the prayer of every woman and man who longs for fair play, healthy families, good schools, and a balanced economy.
She means to rise.
Don't give up on Hillary. In fact, if you help her to rise, you will rise with her and help her make this country the wonderful, wonderful place where every man and every woman can live freely without sanctimonious piety and without crippling fear.
Rise, Hillary.
Rise.
Angelou is steadfast in her loyalty to Clinton. She said recently, "I made up my mind 15 years ago that if she ever ran for office I'd be on her wagon." It remains to be seen if she will find herself once again rising at dawn to compose new stanzas to mark a third Clinton inauguration.
About Maya Angelou: Writer, Actor, Poet, Dancer, Singer, ActivistNamed originally Marguerite Johnson, Maya Angelou was born April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, as the daughter of Bailey Johnson, a doorkeeper and naval dietitian, and Vivian Baxter, a nurse and realtor. By the time she was in her early twenties, Maya Angelou had been a Creole cook, a streetcar conductor, a cocktail waitress, a dancer, a madam, and an unwed mother.
The following decades saw her emerge as a successful singer, actress, and playwright, an editor for an English-language magazine in Egypt, a lecturer and civil rights activist, and a popular author of five collections of poetry and five autobiographies.
Internationally respected poet, writer and educator, Maya Angelou has given us such best-selling titles as I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
, Gather Together in My Name
When Maya Angelou reads her own poems, the world stops to listen. A treat for all of us, she has released these tapes of readings - And Still I Rise: A Selection of Poems Read by the Author
Here most recent books include Celebrations: Rituals of Peace and Prayer
Ms. Angelou's accomplishments have earned her the La Home Journal Woman of the Year award in communication and a Matrix Award in the field of books from Women in Communication. She received the Golden Eagle Award for her documentary, Americans in the Arts, produced by PBS. She is one of the women admitted into the Director's Guild. In 1974. Ms. Angelou was appointed by Gerald Ford to the Bi-Centennial Commission and later by Jimmie Carter to the Commission for International Woman of the Year.
In 1993, Ms. Angelou gave a moving reading of her poem On the Pulse of the Morning at Bill Clinton's presidential inauguration, an occasion that gave her wide recognition. In December 2005, Maya Angelou read another important poem, Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem
Her personal outreach to improve conditions for women in the Third World, primarily in Africa, has helped change the lives of thousands less privileged. Maya Angelou gives with all her heart and soul.
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Comments (1)
Wonderful post on Maya. My wife and I once drove from the Bay Area to L.A. listening to a book on CD of Angelou's and it was illuminating for me. I didn't realize how tough her early life was. Her "On the Pulse of Morning" was the best thing about Clinton's inaugural in 1993. There's a book on CD of that poem available with Angelou reading it, and she gives a brief description of the influences of that poem.
Posted by Angelo Lopez
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February 11, 2008 11:18 PM
Posted on February 11, 2008 23:18