Book Review: Poems by Maya Angelou, reviewed by Leanne Dyck

 I've been doing a lot of reading but not for pleasure. And I've missed it. I felt the key to returning would be finding something undemanding. Maya Angelou took me by the hand and brought me back.

Photo by ldyck

Poems 

Maya Angleou

Bantam Books

1986

I've thoroughly enjoyed my time with Maya Angelou. She was entertaining, inspirational, and insightful. Admittedly, some of her writing required a second reading, and some escaped me. But others will remain with me long after this book is closed. 

Still I Rise

 You can write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may trod me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I’ll rise

Does my sassiness upset you?

Why are you beset with gloom?

‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells

Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,

with the certainty of tides,

Just like hopes springing high,

Still I’ll rise

Did you want to see me broken?

Bowed head and lowered eyes?

Shoulders falling down like teardrops,

Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?

Don’t you take it awful hard

‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines

Diggin’ in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?

Does it comes as a surprise

That I dance like I’ve got diamonds

At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame

I rise

Up from a past that’s rooted in pain

I rise

I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I rise

Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear

I rise

Bring the gifts that my ancestors gave,

I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise

I rise

I rise

Such power... Such pride... 

What does this poem say to me as a Caucasian... as a woman... as a neurodivergent? 

I know my time with Maya Angelou has changed me. I close this book with regret wishing I could have stayed longer.

Other genres that have kept me reading...

short story collections such as...

How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa

graphic novels such as...

Ducks by Kate Beaton

novellas such as...

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Middle Grade fiction such as...

The Dollhouse: a ghost story by Charis Cotter

Young Adult fiction such as...

When Everything Feels Like the Movies by Raziel Reid

More... 

How to get back to reading consistently again 

by Akanksha Narang

How to Make Reading a Habit

by James Clear

photo by Byron Dyck

January on this blog

Sunday, January 19

Studying Poetry (a poem)

I was introduced to poetry, as many of you were, in grade school. Later, I matriculated and a professor furthered my studying on the subject. Those two experiences were remarkably different. How? Well...

Sunday, January 26

Making Giant Snowballs (children's story)

Making Giant Snowballs encourages children to show acceptance and kindness--especially to people who are different from themselves.

A Painting (short memoir) by Leanne Dyck

When did I fall in love with the idea of creating stories? What made me want to write? Tips on how to remain inspired.

One of my earliest inspirations to write came from a painting.

photo by ldyck

My paternal grandmother owned a painting called "The Open Window," created by Frank Moss Bennett. The painting is of a small room surrounded by stained-glass windows. In the room is a bench and a table. A cat sits on that table looking through a window to a green meadow. One of the side windows is open. From childhood on the painting has mesmerized me. Did the cat jump into the room? Who lives in the house? Will they find the cat? What will happen then? Or does the cat live in the house? Is it contemplating escaping into the meadow? What will the cat find in the meadow? Will the cat return to the house once it has explored the meadow? I told myself a new story about the painting each time I visited my grandmother. And yet, my pen never captured any of them. That pool of inspiration may have been too deep. Unable to capture the cat stories, I was inspired to cast my net and capture others. 

(Much thanks to Angie and others on Facebook who helped me discover the artist of this painting.)

What stories does 2025 hold?

Wishing you the best of 2025.

7 Science-backed Ways to Channel Creativity by Amanda Lieber

Boosting Creativity: 8 ways to instantly unlock your creative flow by Alexandra Tudor

17 Ways to Find Inspiration and Spark Creativity by Nikki Carter

photo by Byron Dyck

1/6/2025

January on this blog

Sunday, January 12

Book Review: Poems by Maya Angelou

 I've been doing a lot of reading but not for pleasure. And I've missed it. I felt the key to returning would be finding something undemanding. Maya Angelou took me by the hand and brought me back.

Sunday, January 19

Studying Poetry (a poem)

I was introduced to poetry, as many of you were, in grade school. Later, I matriculated and a professor furthered my studying on the subject. Those two experiences were remarkably different. How? Well...

Sunday, January 26

Making Giant Snowballs (children's story)

Making Giant Snowballs encourages children to show acceptance and kindness--especially to people who are different from themselves.

Oh, this mighty blog...