Maya Angelou

[cameralady]

I spotted breaking news on my Twitter feed: lauded poet Maya Angelou has passed away at age 86.

I got it from my local news channel's Twitter feed.

[desertangel]

RIP dear lady. A great loss. "I know why the caged bird sings" caused a major shift in my thinking after I read it. She will be greatly missed.

[amaranthaseven]

I'm surprisingly emotional about this. It was not unexpected, given her age, but I feel like I lost someone close to me. I'm glad we have her body of work and wisdom to remember her by.

[RiotBoots]

Damn.. And not a fuck was given.

[phirerednga]

RIP Ms Angelou, she was a blessing to all as well as an inspiration....the heavens now hold her in their embrace, blessed be.

[ChefCookChemist]

Truly an amazing poet and a very wise woman, rest in peace Dr. Angelou

[cindyt]

Aw. I was just thinking about her. I loved Why the Caged Bird sings--book and movie. Think I've read another book or two she wrote but I can't remember the titles. RIP

[RiotBoots]

This is a huge loss. Totally a gut punch. I loved listening to her speak. Her voice, her words, just so soothing. Just to be clear, my comment about no fucks were given in my previous post were from comments I read on a couple other sites. UGH. Everyone keeps bringing up Oprah.

[Leasie]

What? Had not heard this. May she rest in peace.

I agree RiotBoots, her voice and words were soothing.

[Zoe_Zeppelin]

She was a great and noble woman. Rest in peace, Maya.

[Aries65]

I'm one of those who never paid much attention to her and can't share in the sadness with everyone who cared about her....oh well.

[Saskia]

This wonderful woman was pure class! I will miss her greatly...she was a true inspiration! Rest in peace beautiful Maya.

[madeline]

This one hit me pretty hard. She's a personal hero to me, as well as being one of my favorite writers.

[Linnie]

She was a heck of a survivor. This article tells the harrowing story of how, at the same time her only son, Guy Johnson, was suffering from devastating injuries so terrible that he asked his mother to allow him to die, Maya Angelou searched for, and eventually found, her grandson Colin, kidnapped by her former daughter-in-law Sharon for 4 years.

Her son recovered (better than expected), the family was reunited, and they successfully sought leniency for the boy's mother, due to Maya's strong belief in the mother-child bond in spite of the anguish Colin's disappearance had caused her and her son.

http://articles.latimes.com/1986-06-...1_maya-angelou

Eventually, Guy remarried, had another son, Elliot, some years later. Colin has two children, Caylin Nicole and Brandon.

http://www.grandparents.com/food-and...-angelou-words

[RiaBrown]

Damn.. And not a fuck was given.

I know. The lack of response on Facebook is sad. When Paul Walker died, it was all over Facebook. He was just an actor. Maya, on the other hand, was a brilliant poet, writer, speaker. Her book, "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" was the first book I had ever read about child rape written by a woman who had survived it herself. I finally felt I wasn't alone.

[cash]

I never liked - borderline communist/anti-semitic. much like Pete Seegar.

9/11 call

http://www.tmz.com/2014/05/29/maya-a...ed/?adid=hero4

[RiotBoots]

The Erasure of Maya Angelou's Sex Work History: http://titsandsass.kinja.com/the-era...ium=socialflow

[pkstracy]

Rest well sweet lady, I didn't know enough about you, I never got around to reading your works, but I will try to do so.

[McMorbid]

Well I'm not the biggest fan but I will give credit where it's due. She was an exceptional writer and had reasonable insight. I also won't hate because she was a whore. Not particularly my bag but to each their own.

[Shejay]

I know people who loved her and are devastated - It's sad to lose a notable figure, but I never really read her stuff. Mostly what I would see were quotes here and there and to me she kinda sounded like she was "down on whitey"... I could be wrong - just putting that out there.

"As far as I knew white women were never lonely, except in books. White men adored them, Black men desired them and Black women worked for them."

Maya Angelou

[gottaqhfilly]

A racist commie is dead. Boo Hoo Hoo.

[cindyt]

I don't know enough about her to say whether she was a borderline commie or down on whitey--though that quote is pretty much true, or was back in the day. As for as a whore--I had no wish to read that article. However, lots of sexually abused children become promiscuous or/and sex workers. It's a feeling of self worthlessness and a symptom of the abuse. Whatever. But I think she more than rose above it all, and I applaud anyone who does that.

[Mcafgr]

Damn.. And not a fuck was given.

Same here.....I had no use for her, but RIP and my condolences to anyone that she might mean something to.

[cindyt]

Same here.....I had no use for her, but RIP and my condolences to anyone that she might mean something to.

I think she was talking about the media, not her. They were slow in reporting it.

[tamiele]

She was an insightful person. She had a gift that she shared with anyone who would listen. She rose above her childhood trauma and bad choices and found her life's true calling. I would like to delve more deeply into her writings. It fits with my own interests.

[cash]

Her Harlem brownstone has sold for over $4 million - she was one rich socialist

http://www.realtor.com/news/celebrit...lls-4-million/

[Slick SKillet Mayhand]

Trivia note (which are probably pretty well known): She pronounced her own name as 'an-juh-lo,' not 'an-juh-loo,' as it would appear. Also, she preferred to be called "Dr. Angelou."

[cash]

I guess there's a lot of money in poetry

http://nypost.com/2016/10/28/maya-an...rlem-landlord/

[Linnie]

She left a son, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who are benefiting from all these sales.
Anyone will realize a pretty penny from the sale of even the worst / tiniest property in NYC these days.
The restored brownstone is likely safe from demolition, at least.