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Maya Angelou Quotes - Page 32

All Quotes Achievement Adventure Adversity Age Aging Appreciation Art Attitude Beauty Being Alone Birth Black History Bravery Cancer Challenges Change Character Children Choices Christmas Church Communication Community Compassion Confidence Country Courage Creativity Culture Dance Darkness Death Defeat Determination Discipline Diversity Dying Earth Education Effort Ego Electricity Empowerment Encouragement Encouraging Energy Ethics Failing Failure Faith Falling In Love Family Fashion Fear Feelings Fighting Forgiveness Freedom Friendship Generosity Giving Glory God Grace Graduation Gratitude Growing Up Growth Happiness Hard Work Harmony Hate Healing Heart Hell Helping Others History Home Honesty Hope House Humanity Humility Hurt Husband Identity Ignorance Inspirational Inspiring Intelligence Journey Joy Justice Kindness Language Laughter Leadership Learning Leaving Life Listening Live Life Loneliness Love Love Life Lying Memories Modesty Mom Monday Morning Motivation Motivational Moving On Music Overcoming Pain Passion Past Peace Persistence Pleasure Poetry Positive Positive Thinking Positivity Prejudice Pride Purpose Quality Racism Reading Reality Regret Respect Responsibility Romance Running Sacrifice School Segregation Self Esteem Silence Skins Sleep Son Soul Spring Strength Struggle Style Success Survival Sympathy Talent Teaching Thankful Thanksgiving Time Today Travel Trust Truth Virtue Waiting Wall War Water Whining Winning Wisdom Writing Yoga

The woman who truly intends to live a good life is already living phenomenally since intent is part of the achievement.

The woman who truly intends to live a good life is already living phenomenally since intent is part of the achievement.

Good Life, Achievement, Life Is

I think Clinton, after getting into office and into Washington, was shocked at being bludgeoned. So he spent time trying to be all things to all people - one way guaranteed not to be successful or respected in a lion's den. You can't just play around with all those big cats - you've got to take somebody on.

Cat, Successful, Thinking

"Visions: Maya Angelou". Interview With Ken Kelley, www.motherjones.com. May/June 1995.

I know some people might think it odd - unworthy even - for me to have written a cookbook, but I make no apologies. The U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins thought I had demeaned myself by writing poetry for Hallmark Cards, but I am the people's poet so I write for the people.

Writing, Apology, Thinking

"Maya Angelou: 'I make no apologies for writing a cookbook'" by John Crace, www.theguardian.com. November 2, 2011.

I never expected anyone to take care of me, but in my wildest dreams and juvenile yearnings, I wanted the house with the picket fence from June Allyson movies. I knew that was yearning like one yearns to fly.

Dream, June, House

I'm a serious aficionada of country music - Reba McEntire, Toby Keith, Montgomery Gentry. I've even written some songs. They haven't done anything of mine yet. But it's only a matter of time.

Country, Song, Serious

If you were the President of the United States or the Queen of England - you couldn't have a person who would be more protective than my mother was for me. Which meant really that I could dare to do all sorts of things.

Mother, Queens, President

"Exclusive Interview With Maya Angelou on Her New Book, Mom & Me & Mom". Interview with Marianne Schnall, www.huffingtonpost.com. May 10, 2013.

Modesty is a learned affectation. It's no good. Humility is great, because humility says, 'There was someone before me. I'm following in somebody's footsteps.'

Humility, Compassion, Modesty

Continue to be bold, courageous. Try to choose the wisest thing and once you've chosen the wisest thing go out and try to achieve it. Be it.

Inspiring, Loving Life, Thoughtful

Though we are many, each of us is achingly alone, piercingly alone. Only when we confess our confusion can we remember that he was a gift to us and we did have him. He came to us from the creator, trailing creativity in abundance. Despite the anguish, his life was sheathed in mother love, family love, and survived and did more than that. He thrived with passion and compassion, humor and style. We had him whether we know who he was or did not know, he was ours and we were his.

Mother, Passion, Creativity

"Liveblogging Michael Jackson's funeral and memorial service" by Oliver Burkeman, www.theguardian.com. July 7, 2009.

Hatred is the ballast of the rock which lies upon our necks and underfoot.

Lying, Hate, Rocks

Maya Angelou (2015). “The Complete Poetry”, p.250, Random House

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams.

Dream, Powerful, Bird

Maya Angelou (2013). “Shaker, Why Don't You Sing?”, p.20, Random House

I might have it at six-fifteen a.m. just as soon as I get in, but usually it's about eleven o'clock when I'll have a glass of sherry.

Life Changing, Glasses, Fifteen

"Maya Angelou Always Rented A Hotel Room Just For Writing" by Julie Zeveloff, www.businessinsider.com. May 28, 2014.

If I wanted to write, I had to be willing to develop a kind of concentration found mostly in people awaiting execution. I had to learn technique and surrender my ignorance.

Writing, Ignorance, People

Maya Angelou (2012). “The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou”, p.659, Modern Library

One of the problems we have as writers is we don't take ourselves seriously while writing; being serious is setting aside a time and saying if it comes, good; if it doesn't come, good, I'll just sit here.

Writing, Serious, Problem

I know why the caged bird sings.

Inspirational, Children, Book

Title of book (1969), taken from the last line of "Sympathy" by Paul Laurence Dunbar in Lyrics of Hearthside (1899). Cf. Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (1979) 567:10

Courage - you develop courage by doing small things like just as if you wouldn't want to pick up a 100-pound weight without preparing yourself.

Weight, Want, Pounds

It may in fact be utterly impossible to be successful without helping others to become successful.

Successful, Helping Others, May

In a long meter hymn, a singer - they call it 'lays out a line.' And then the whole church joins in in repeating that line. And they form a wall of harmony so tight, you can't wedge a pin between it.

Wall, Hymns, Long

"'Fresh Air' Remembers Poet And Memoirist Maya Angelou". "Fresh Air" with Terry Gross, www.npr.org. May 28, 2014.

If you do not like anything, alter it. If you can not change it, adjust your mindset. Will not complain.

Complaining, Mindset, Can Not

At fifteen life had taught me undeniably that surrender, in its place, was as honorable as resistance, especially if one had no choice.

Life, Choices, Caged Birds

1970 I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, ch.31.

Effective action is always unjust.

Peace, Unjust, Action

If you're a human being, you can attempt to do what other human beings have done. We don't understand talent any more than we understand electricity.

Done, Talent, Electricity

Arizona Republic interview, www.azcentral.com. 2011.

I agree with Balzac and 19th-century writers, black and white, who say, 'I write for money.' Yes, I think everybody should be paid handsomely; I insist on it, and I pay people who work for me, or with me, handsomely.

Writing, Black And White, Thinking

"No surrender" by Gary Younge, www.theguardian.com. May 24, 2002.

It's still scary every time I go back to the past. Each morning, my heart catches. When I get there, I remember how the light was, where the draft was coming from, what odors were in the air. When I write, I get all the weeping out.

Morning, Writing, Heart

I read the Bible to myself; I'll take any translation, any edition, and read it aloud, just to hear the language, hear the rhythm, and remind myself how beautiful English is.

Beautiful, Language, Rhythm

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