"Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness." — Maya Angelou
We owe much of our contemporary wisdom and grace to activist, poet and author Maya Angelou, so it's fitting we celebrate what would have been her 90th birthday with a Google Doodle.
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Upon clicking on the Google Doodle, you're treated to a reading of Angelou's iconic poem, "Still I Rise," accompanied by beautiful graphics. The reading starts with Angelou's powerful voice, with other stanzas read by Alicia Keys, Martina McBride and Oprah Winfrey, among others.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Today WE RISE in celebration of the great Maya Angelou’s birthday!! This woman is a true pioneer & warrior of humankind on so many levels She broke ceilings as a creator and paved the way for millions w/the power of her words Happy 90th Birthday <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MayaAngelou?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MayaAngelou</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StilliRise?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StilliRise</a> <a href="https://t.co/p9TyeYKhAY">pic.twitter.com/p9TyeYKhAY</a></p>— Alicia Keys (@aliciakeys) <a href="https://twitter.com/aliciakeys/status/981486546959388673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2018</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
While perhaps some of Angelou's best-known work includes 1969's I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, she penned influential literature throughout her career. This includes the works that earned her three career GRAMMY Awards for her audio book narration: On The Pulse Of Morning (1993), Phenomenal Woman (1995) and A Song Flung Up To Heaven (2002).
Though she died in 2014 after a long and unparalleled career, not only can we celebrate her legacy today in honor of her 90th birthday, but her words are a gift that will keep giving for generations.
