Scan barcode
saskiacb's review against another edition
4.0
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
pumastredia's review against another edition
3.0
Weird to rate a collection of poems. I liked her book “letters to my daughter” much more, and in this one most of the poems were too literal and simple in language for my liking. But that’s also in part an author’s choice — to make them more accessible, and easier to connect with for those people they were written for. They were written as an encouragement for people of colour, and especially women. And the fact I am not able to connect to this experience fully means that some of it is just not for me, and that’s okay. I, however, have also greatly loved the rhythm and the vivid life in a few of them, especially towards the end. They felt like an invitation to dance, and to sing, and to love — beautiful. So, that is how it usually goes with a poetry collection, where some strike you a lot, and others don’t. Angelou is a great and important poet. But I wasn’t mesmerized this time.
makayla_muir's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
Soulful, thought provoking poetry. A range of themes, ideas, feelings and thoughts are examined and articulated in ways that really made me stop and think and take it in. There are definitely some gems in this collection, some stand outs that I will come back to.
miacaven's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
5.0
a gorgeous collection of poetry lacking any flaws at all
essies_library's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
5.0
tanveerk's review against another edition
3.0
↠ you may 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.
↠ you may shoot me with your words,
you may cut me with your eyes,
you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, i’ll rise.
↠ i went to sleep last night
and i arose with the dawn,
i know that there are others
who’re still sleeping on,
they’ve gone away,
you’ve let me stay.
i want to thank you.
i've a fondness for certain poems in this collection, while others i find to be just average. however, what truly captivates me about maya angelou is her unwaveringly optimistic outlook on life, embracing both its highs and lows.
elyse33's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
so happy to have read some maya angelou now - she writes about such a vast range of emotions and experiences here + every poem - especially towards the end of the book - really got at the core of you. her style is almost less flowery than other poets i've read but communicates a lot of complex emotions + ideas succinctly.
some quotes <3
You, whose chanteys hummed
my life alive, have withdrawn
your music and lean inaudibly
on the quiet slope of memory.
[Shaker, Why Don't You Sing?]
One day they hold you in the
Palms of their hands, gentle, as if you
Were the last raw egg in the world. Then
They tighten up. Just a little. The
First squeeze is nice. A quick hug.
Soft into your defenselessness. A little
More. The hurt begins. Wrench out a
Smile that slides around the fear. When the
Air disappears,
[Men]
I defy my body's haste.
Without the Promise
Of one more sweet encounter
I will not deign to die.
[Refusal]
You left me to force strangers
Into brother molds, exacting
Taxations they never
Owed or could ever pay.
[Kin] like???? FUCk????
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
[Caged Bird]
Beside you, prone,
my naked skin finds
fault in touching.
(...)
the awful fear of losing
is not enough to cause
a fleeing love
to stay.
[Prelude To A Parting]
(...) the heart
breaks slowly, dismantling itself
into unrecognizable plots of
misery,
[Prescience]
some quotes <3
You, whose chanteys hummed
my life alive, have withdrawn
your music and lean inaudibly
on the quiet slope of memory.
[Shaker, Why Don't You Sing?]
One day they hold you in the
Palms of their hands, gentle, as if you
Were the last raw egg in the world. Then
They tighten up. Just a little. The
First squeeze is nice. A quick hug.
Soft into your defenselessness. A little
More. The hurt begins. Wrench out a
Smile that slides around the fear. When the
Air disappears,
[Men]
I defy my body's haste.
Without the Promise
Of one more sweet encounter
I will not deign to die.
[Refusal]
You left me to force strangers
Into brother molds, exacting
Taxations they never
Owed or could ever pay.
[Kin] like???? FUCk????
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
[Caged Bird]
Beside you, prone,
my naked skin finds
fault in touching.
(...)
the awful fear of losing
is not enough to cause
a fleeing love
to stay.
[Prelude To A Parting]
(...) the heart
breaks slowly, dismantling itself
into unrecognizable plots of
misery,
[Prescience]