Maya Angelou Dies at 86 | Hacker News Reader

Maya Angelou Dies at 86

nytimes.com

165 pointstieistoowhite19 comments

I was fortunate enough to have Maya living within a couple of miles of me, and was able to meet her a couple of times. I admired her, and she was an inspiration to me. Her words and actions resonated with me, and I always felt she had veracity of emotion that I could only aspire to.

I too, know why the caged bird sings, but I learned it from you, Maya.

Here's a recent 14 minute interview she did. As ever, she speaks beautifully and is engaging to watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1T9CEjjRzE

In the video she mentions having "already been paid for" (paraphrasing - don't have time to rewatch video at the moment). She uses a similar phrase in her Clinton poem and other interviews.

As I understand it, it's her concept that all the people who went before you to make your life better (moving countries to seek a better life, fighting slavery, fighting wars, getting the right to vote or whatever) paid a price long ago to make your life better. The only way to pay that debt back is to make life better for those yet to come.

Lovely interview. Asked about her frailty: "What I really want to do is be a representative of my race, of the human race. I have a chance to show how kind we can be. How intelligent and generous we can be. I have a chance to teach and to love and to laugh and I know that when I finish doing what I was sent here to do, I will be called home. And I will go home without any fear [or] trepidations."

I think she says "trepidation... some. Wondering what's going to happen..." She sort of changed thought midstream.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1T9CEjjRzE#t=11m53s

I liked her incredulity when asked how she resolved her religious beliefs and views on homosexuality:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1T9CEjjRzE#t=9m53s

...but just go watch the whole thing.

  You may write me down in history
  With your bitter, twisted lies,
  You may tread me in the very dirt
  But still, like dust, I'll rise.

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

RIP

"I have a certain way of being in this world, and I shall not, I shall not be moved."

>(pronounced AHN-zhe-lo)

/ˈæn.dʒə.loʊ/ in IPA, if that confused anyone else. (I misinterpreted it as representing /ˈɑːn.ʒə.loʊ/.)

That's interesting. I learned the pronunciation from The Simpsons episode, where they apparently pronounced it wrong (I know it wasn't actually Maya who did the voice).

I heard her speak last year at Elon, and this is how she pronounced it herself. Prior, I had heard it both ways.

How many of us deserve to be described as consistently: 1. beautifully spoken? 2. profound in thought? 3. joyful in outlook? and yet despite possessing these outstanding qualities, never allowing those who do not seem to, to feel anything but encouraged to try to follow her example.

She is no longer a caged bird.

It's really odd timing: I had never heard of Maya until yesterday, when I discovered her beautiful poetry. I even looked her up on Wikipedia to she if she was still alive...

She was a real inspiration to so many. A brilliant person that will be sorely missed.

I saw her speak once in college. She was a brilliant and engaging speaker.

She was an amazing woman.

RIP

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