The Intersectional Power Of Maya Angelou
Sunday, January 22, 2017 at 09:10AM Even though yesterday’s post was about a cool music festival in the UK, many of you wanted to talk about Maya Angelou and the video I shared from Friday. Did you know that 'Still I Rise' is from the collection And Still I Rise? It's a book of poetry in three parts, segmented by theme. Part III is called "Still I Rise" for the poem of the same name. "Still I Rise" represents Dr. Angelou's expression of strength for both her womanhood and community.
This is a work studied at the collegiate level among all "worthless" humanities degrees holders. It helps us contextualize how women perceive their own role in society.
Dr. Angelou is one of the most accomplished authors of all time. To dismiss her glorious words as "jive talk" proves exactly the point she was making during her many years fighting for civil rights.
I understand my place of privilege here. Not everyone gets to go to college simply to study what they love and to try and learn more about the world around them and I had the ability to do that twice. During grad school, I switched my focus from literary analysis to the study of words: their power and how people use them. To say the last 18 months has been an interesting time to observe the way others use words, especially in the political arena, would be the understatement of a lifetime.
I often observe the way words are used in the comments section of this website too. Think about it: I have thousands of comments to ponder from 10 years worth of posts! It’s always interesting to watch the back and forth amongst readers. There’s also a tendency for the vocabulary level to decline and the insults fly when a poster feels slighted by someone else, either due to argument or direct attack. The person being slighted ends up feeling like a dog, either lashing out or cowering in a corner although in this post, the more perfect analogy would be to say that maybe they feel like a “caged bird,” right?
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Maya Angelou’s work, I do encourage you to head to a library and check it out. For many people, it is life changing. This is a woman to be celebrated. When she died in 2014, it left a void in the American literary community, especially among female authors.
Speaking of women, the crowd science data is in. More then three times more people attended the Women's March in Washington yesterday than the inauguration on Friday. Sad!
Crowd scientists (who knew there was such a thing?) say 3 times more people at women's march than Trump inaugurationhttps://t.co/vqSMueAM16
— Paul Begala (@PaulBegala) January 22, 2017
Reader Comments (32)
In the words of Joe Perry, "Let The Music Do The Talking'!
Bwaahaaaaa.............
**hlbetz - I agree, I have seen many times, when politics and or religion has ruined some really great sites. Which is why I hesitate to say anything most of the times and I sure as hell don't say what I really want to say, oh boy!!!
1) We're Not Gonna Take It -- Twisted Sister
2) Bang Your Head (Metal Health) -- Quiet Riot
3) Peace Sells -- Megadeth
4) Run To The Hills -- Iron Maiden
5) Stormtroopin' -- Ted Nugent
6) Elected -- Alice Cooper
7) Paranoid -- Black Sabbath
8) Crazy Train -- Ozzy Osbourne
9) Whole Lotta Rosie -- AC/DC
10) Unholy -- KISS
Folks (not all of you), this is her rodeo. You might not like all of it. But most certainly all of you who posted like _some_ of it. If you put it into percentage form, I think the good always outweighs the bad (even if it is in the comments about posts). Obviously, I am biased. Even then, that bias doesn't stop me from critiquing Allyson's choices sometimes, poking fun, having a go at things she posts. Let me add this disclaimer: I almost always also say to her, when submitting a post, "if this doesn't fit or you don't like it, I respect you not posting it." How could I not? She cultivates. But she also curates. I am lucky to have this venue for both forms of expression (my posts and my comments), at the pleasure/discretion of Allyson.
It isn't cheap theatrics to suggest that some of these posts point to the reason I refrained from discussing my political opinion re: the Keystone Pipeline several weeks back. I recognize, for me, why this site matters and act accordingly. Obviously, I don't think political discussion has to be toxic. But I also recognize that, on this site, it can and will often turn that way. So I don't remain above the fray. But I do (as Kixchix put it) "abstain." That isn't a cop-out. It is a choice. Just as all of you chose to use your voice in whichever way you pleased.
One final thing: you can't claim to be censored if the privilege to speak wasn't offered in the first place. Allyson chose, initially, to make a statement. Full stop. That she then opened the initial statement up to this sort of discussion is unexpected, and generous. Just because comments here are rarely blocked, that doesn't mean they shouldn't or can't be. Again, her rodeo. Your admission. Cost? Free.
Thanks again, Allyson, for all that you do for us. Appreciated.