When was still i rise poem written

In , Serena Williams, who has been fighting against systematic discrimination within tennis , recited the poem in a video showing her many achievements and struggles:. By providing your email, you agree to the Quartz Privacy Policy. Skip to navigation Skip to content. Discover Membership. Editions Quartz. But today, the Rock cries out to us, clearly, forcefully, Come, you may stand upon my Back and face your distant destiny, But seek no haven in my shadow.

I will give you no hiding place down here. You, created only a little lower than The angels, have crouched too long in The bruising darkness Have lain too long Face down in ignorance. Your mouths spilling words. Armed for slaughter. The Rock cries out to us today, you may stand upon me, But do not hide your face. Across the wall of the world, A River sings a beautiful song. It says, Come, rest here by my side.

Each of you, a bordered country, Delicate and strangely made proud, Yet thrusting perpetually under siege. Your armed struggles for profit Have left collars of waste upon My shore, currents of debris upon my breast. Yet today I call you to my riverside, If you will study war no more. Before cynicism was a bloody sear across your Brow and when you yet knew you still Knew nothing.

The River sang and sings on. There is a true yearning to respond to The singing River and the wise Rock. They hear.

They all hear The speaking of the Tree. They hear the first and last of every Tree Speak to humankind today. Come to me, here beside the River. Plant yourself beside the River. Each of you, descendant of some passed On traveller, has been paid for.

You, who gave me my first name, you, Pawnee, Apache, Seneca, you Cherokee Nation, who rested with me, then Forced on bloody feet, Left me to the employment of Other seekers—desperate for gain, Starving for gold. This poem continues the theme of significant women poets.

Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, She grew up in St. Louis and Stamps, Arkansas. She was an author, poet, historian, songwriter, playwright, dancer, stage and screen producer, director, performer, singer, and civil rights activist. In , things changed for the writer — she was preparing to join forces with Martin Luther King Jr. As Angelou was getting ready for a party on her birthday, April 4, she learned King had been assassinated.

Years passed before she commemorated her birthday again. One way Angelou coped following King's death was to write. This was followed by additional memoirs, books of poetry and plays, including a dramatic musical production called And Still I Rise that was produced in Oakland, California, in In , her poetry collection And Still I Rise was published.

Angelou drew upon blues, gospel and spiritual songs as inspiration for the balladic patterns of the poem. She uses a "call and response" technique, references her sexuality and perhaps because she appreciated African American oral traditions, the power of the poem becomes even more evident when recited.

The ability to cope with adversity is a strong theme throughout "Still I Rise. For Angelou, Black people in America had remained "intact enough to survive, and to do better than that — to thrive.

And to do better than that — to thrive with some passion, some compassion, some humor and some style.