Farewell to Maya Angelou

Five of my favorite Maya Angelou quotes

We selected Maya Angelou's Mom & Me & Mom for our 10th Grade reading program, which our students embarked on in April, so it was with great sadness that I read of Maya Angelou's death this week. I'm a great collector of quotes about writing and reading, and my pinboard is crammed with them; five of Maya's are up there. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." (And not having the time to tell it is just as unbearable...)
2. "Making a decision to write was a lot like deciding to jump into a frozen lake." (Ain't that the truth!)
3. "Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him."
4. "When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the word, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young."
5. My favorite: "Ain't nothin' to it, but to do it."