Long Richard A. - Maya Angelou

Contents

CHAPTER 1
Truths Told

CHAPTER 2
Becoming an Artist

CHAPTER 3
Changing the World

CHAPTER 4
A Daughter Returns

CHAPTER 5
Blazing New Trails

CHAPTER 6
Doing Her Work

CHAPTER 7
Life as Art

FROM MARCIA ANN GILLESPIE

For my late parents,
Ethel and Charles Gillespie,
who loved me up and urged me on.

FROM ROSA JOHNSON BUTLER

To God, Im thankful for my life.

To Mother, Im thankful to God for you and
your love for me.

To my loving Auntie MayaThank you for
always being in my corner and for telling me years
ago, God loves you and wants the best for you.

FROM RICHARD A. LONG

For M. J. Hewitt

It is good to have an end to journey towards;
but it is the journey that matters in the end.

URSULA K. LEGUIN

FOREWORD

I N ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE, I NEVER MET A woman who was more completely herself than Maya Angelou. She fully inhabits and owns every space of herself with no pretense and no false modesty. She has a certain way of being in this world. When you walk into a room and shes there, you know it. She is fully aware of what it means to be human, and share that humanity with others. Being around her makes you want to do the same, be more fully your own self.

Shes been teaching me about being myself since I was a young girl and first read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. At the time(1969), I couldnt believe a young womans story with so many similarities to my own had merited a book. Being raised in the South by a grandmother, learning to love poetry, raped at seven, growing up speaking in the churchall mirrored my own tenuous and tumultuous upbringing. Reading about her life gave value to my own. The fact that she had not merely survived but triumphed allowed me to see the possibility of my own victory over adversity.

And so the lessons began for me long before I met her. I see now the absolute divine order that brought us together. I was a young reporter in Baltimore having admired her from afar, memorizing, and then reciting her poetry to anyone who would listen. When she came to town I convinced my station manager that I had to be the one to interview her. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet the woman I most admired whod been a mentor to me without even knowing it. I asked her for five minutes of her time to please speak to me on camera. I was careful not to take a second more than Id asked for. At the end of the five minutes, she inquired with a quizzical smile, Who are you, girl?

That was the beginning of a lifelong sister-mother-daughter friendship. She has been for me a refuge and an anchor.

Ive literally sat at her feet (in my pjs) listening, listening, listening to her revelations on the intricacies of life. Ive felt touched by grace to share in her wisdom.

When people show you who they are, believe them the first time. She taught me this treasure of a lesson and so many others that helped me to be a real woman and not just an aging female as she is fond to note.

From her I learned the first words to say when faced with any challenge or crisis: Thank you. Say thank you, she says, because God always puts a rainbow in the clouds and abides on the side of what is true.

She taught me what she knows for sure and explained so eloquently in her poem GrandmothersWhen you learn teach, when you get give. And the lesson we all eventually must evolve to learn: We are all more alike than we are different.

I marvel that this woman whom I grew up loving from a distance became such an intricate and powerful influence in my life. All of her friends and family feel as I do, blessed to know her.

Its only appropriate as she moves into her eightieth year that this book is written as an acknowledgment and affirmation of her favorite word, joy, as we celebrate the joy she has shared with so many.

Her life is a teaching gift to us all.

Oprah Winfrey

S HES THE TALL, IMPOSING COCOA-SKINNED WOMAN standing in the winters chill, the poet reminding the nation and its leaders of the fragility of our planet, the wonder of life, the hope of humankind at William Jefferson Clintons first inauguration as President of the United States. Shes the writer sharing hard-earned wisdom, humorous and painful truths and powerful affirmations, urging her readers to laugh, to dare, to strive, to dream, to love, to say Yes! to life. The autobiographer whose frank thoughtful sharing of her lifes journey continues to captivate, challenge, and inspire readers of all ages around the world. The much sought after speaker urging her audiences to own their truths, claim their voices, and fully embrace their lives. Calling us to higher ground, her words nurture our spirits, stretch our minds, and stir our hearts. Her messages affirm our shared humanity, the human experience, and the sacredness of life. We laugh and rejoice with her. She challenges us and calls us to love ourselves and one another, to live fully, savor life, and embrace our potential. Her voicehot chocolate smooth, melodious and welcomingholds listeners spellbound. Her laughter starts deep, envelopes, and invites us all to share the joy.

Maya Angelou delivering her poem On the Pulse of Morning at William Jefferson Clintons inauguration as president of the United States of America in 1993. (Courtesy of the White House)

Speaker extraordinairefor more than thirty years Maya Angelou has been holding audiences spellbound. Her messages are always life-affirming, hopeful, calling us to live courageously. Courtesy of the University of North CarolinaPembroke. and Courtesy of University of Miami/University Communications.)