
Maya Angelou
American poet, memoirist, civil rights activist, and one of the defining literary voices of the late twentieth century. Born in 1928 in St. Louis, she lived through years of mute silence after childhood trauma, then through dancing, singing, journalism, and revolutionary work — corresponding with Malcolm X in Ghana, working on the Selma to Montgomery March with King — before her seven-volume autobiography (beginning with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in 1969) made her one of the most-read American writers. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010, recited On the Pulse of Morning at Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993, and produced poetry — Phenomenal Woman, Still I Rise — that has become contemporary scripture for several generations of readers. She died in 2014 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
quotes in library
Quotes by Maya Angelou
118 quotes“Here on the pulse of this new day, you may have the courage to look up and out and upon me, the rock, the river, the tree, your country.”
“Good Morning.”
“Each one of us is the architect of our own being.”
“In every age, the artist tells us where we have been and where we may be going.”
“To be human is to be in the long song of becoming.”
“In every life, the river of grief flows. Cross it. Do not stay.”
“Joy is not given. It is recognized.”
“There is no truer mirror than another person's love.”
“You are loved more than you know.”
“Be the person you would want to meet.”
“To bring grace into the world is the work of a lifetime.”
“In the long song, every voice matters.”
“In every dawn, the choice to rise.”
“Phenomenal woman. Phenomenal you.”
“Beloved. You are. You are loved. You are. Phenomenal.”
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
“People don't remember what you said or what you did, they remember how you made them feel.”
Explore More Teachers
Discover wisdom from 500+ spiritual teachers across all traditions.
Browse All Teachers