And Still I Rise: A Book of Poems

by Maya Angelou

Book Overview

Maya Angelou's unforgettable collection of poetry lends its name to the documentary film about her life, And Still I Rise, as seen on PBS's American Masters . 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. Thus begins "Phenomenal Woman," just one of the beloved poems collected here in Maya Angelou's third book of verse. These poems are powerful, distinctive, and fresh--and, as always, full of the lifting rhythms of love and remembering. And Still I Rise is written from the heart, a celebration of life as only Maya Angelou has discovered it. "It is true poetry she is writing," M.F.K. Fisher has observed, "not just rhythm, the beat, rhymes. I find it very moving and at times beautiful. It has an innate purity about it, unquenchable dignity. . . . It is astounding, flabbergasting, to recognize it, in all the words I read every day and night . . . it gives me heart, to hear so clearly the caged bird singing and to understand her notes."

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: B00A2MRIYM
• ISBN13: 9780394502526
• Release Date: August 1978
• Publisher: Random House
• Length: 64 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.8" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

And Still I Rise is next to Kipling's 'IF 'and "Invictus'

...Invictus is by William E. Henley......I do not like much poetry.....but 'Still I Rise', is one of the most moving and powerful pieces of literature of our day. You can feel the rumblings of motivation rising within you as you read it---it summons the power of our ancestors as you read it... YOU FEEL this poem with all your heart--or I fear you have no heart and you remember that feeling for years after you have read it! It is a magnificent poem that the author not only wrote, but earned through her own life. This book would make excellent Christmas gifts of inspiration.

"Still I Rise" and Rising

This book is filled with wonderful, powerful poetry that really awakened me to the troubles of African Americans in that time of history. Diego Rivera's paintings in the book are staggering and breathtaking. This is a must-see for any ameteur or lover of poetry.

An inspiring book of true feelings!

Maya Angelou is a wonderful woman and an inspiration. Her books are like sweet melodies that flow through your head. I am 13, when I read her words of rhythm and rhyme I can't stop reading. She writes words of wisdom and truth and that's something most authors don't do! This book is a blessing and I say again a true inspiration!

I love her writing

Every time I read "Still I Rise" I start crying. I can connect because I have encountered prejudice as well. I think this is a great book!

This book was great it told of so many feelings

This book captured me. I could see how everyone felt in the poems. Maya Angelou hit my heart, I would say that she has a way with words. And Still I Rise is my favorite poem. I believe it reaches out not only African Americans but to all Americans. Maya Angelou's poems let us also see into her life. If you read her biographys you would be able to compare her poems to her life and see where she got her ideas for her poems. Everytime I need to find peace I pick up her book of poems and I read, to hear her words make me feel comfort. Maya Angelou is my favorite poet and has made me very intrested in the world of poetry. When I hear her poems I can feel the hard times that African Americans had. Yet when I need to find peace I can read these poems. All of her books have shone me that life isn't easy but that everyone can make it throught it if they have some kind of help. I believe that everyone should read this book just to get some idea of what life is like, and to see that even though life is hard you can still make it through it.