I am a writer and Stamps must remain for me in that nebulous, unreal reality, because I'm a poet and I have to draw from these shadows, these densities, these phantasm- phantasmagorias for my poetry. And above all, the atmosphere was pressed down with the smell of old fears, and hates, and guilt." The earth smell was pungent, spiced with the odor of cattle manure, the yellowish acid of the ponds and rivers, the deep pots of greens and beans cooking for hours with smoked or cured pork. "In my memory, Stamps is a place of light, shadow, sounds, and entrancing odors. Here, as a simple act of remembrance, is a brief excerpt of that film, produced with my long-time colleague, David Grubin.
#Retirement poems by maya angelou series#
A dozen years later, for a series on "Creativity," and searching for what it is in a person that touches the strings of that mysterious instrument, I called Maya and said, let’s go home, I want to meet those ghosts. She wouldn’t have it: too many demons, she said. Louis, she was sent to Stamps to live with her grandmother and hadn’t returned for years.
So, we talked about my childhood in Marshall, Texas, and hers in Stamps, Arkansas. We had first met in New York City 45 years ago, soon after she had published her phenomenal, best-selling memoir, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." She was already a presence: civil rights activist, singer, dancer, songwriter.īut that first night, we discovered that we had both grown up in small, segregated towns just a hop, skip and jump from each other. Maya Angelou’s death late this spring at 86 sent me back in time. That’s why we’re your retirement company. Park Foundation, dedicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues.Īnd by our sole corporate sponsor, Mutual of America, designing customized individual and group retirement products. MacArthur Foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. The Herb Alpert Foundation, supporting organizations whose mission is to promote compassion and creativity in our society. The Ford Foundation, working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide.
It was terrifying that this great powerful woman, who was my protection, couldn't protect herself.Īnne Gumowitz, encouraging the renewal of democracy.Ĭarnegie Corporation of New York, supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security at. Is that all the size of the bridge? "We lived with our grandmother and uncle in the rear of the store." These little white kids would come in and call her Annie. This week on Moyers & Company, going home with Maya Angelou.
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