Today we lost a great literary giant, the prophet that is Maya Aneglou. Famed for her poetry and rattling voice, she moved the nation with her words.
The “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” writer changed my life in the 9th grade when I first read her poem, “Still I Rise”. While reading “Still I Rise” I fell in love poetry and the way words could make me feel. This poem empowered me and reassured me that I had a whole generation of people supporting me. “Still I Rise” made me realize that no matter what bad things happened to me or how people might mistreat me, I am a powerful and resilient being.
And then came “Phenomenal Woman”, the poem that shook a nation of women, especially black women. With the reading and understanding of this poem, every woman I know came into the full understanding that the power to be phenomenal exists within us.
Maya Angelou was a writer, author, activist and a force not just within the black community but the world. I pay homage today , the day we lost her to celebrate the life of a great person.