Maya, Maya, Maya

     Maya Angelou was the last American poet to achieve household-name status. (No, Jewel does not count.) Of course, Angelou was not a poet only.  She achieved fame as a dancer, singer, journalist, actress, civil rights activist, and (especially) a writer of memoir. But if you recite "Phenomenal Woman" or "Still I Rise," there's a pretty good chance the people around you will recognize them.*

Knew why the caged bird sings.

     Angelou's renown was both confirmed and enhanced when Bill Clinton asked her to write a poem to recite at his inauguration in 1993. She was only the second poet asked to speak at such an occasion; the first was Robert Frost, and he didn't win a Grammy for the recording of his poem, as Angelou did. (He couldn't dance as well as she could, either.)
     Ferguson Library president Alice Knapp recommends her inaugural poem, "On the Pulse of Morning," which you can see the many-laureled Ms. Angelou perform below.

     * Hey, why are there so many people around you? SOCIAL DISTANCING!