CELEBRATIONS Rituals Of Peace And Prayer Maya Angelou 2006 1st/1st HCDJ

This is a first edition, stated "first printing" of Celebrations by Maya Angelou with a full line number. It was published by Random House in 2006. Both the dust jacket and book are in very fine condition.

I was a philosophy major in college at Indiana University and I've always admired Maya Angelou. She was a civil rights activist, writer, poet, and storyteller who inspired generations with her words and actions. "Celebrations" is a collection of her poems. The first poem in the book is "On the Pulse of Morning". It is a previously published poem that she read at the first inauguration of President Bill Clinton on January 20, 1993. I think the poem is powerful, it calls upon readers to acknowledge the past and work towards a better future. It has a beautifully written ending:

Here, on the pulse of this new day

You may have the grace to look up and out

And into your sister’s eyes, and into

Your brother’s face, your country

And say simply

Very simply

With hope—

Good morning.

Her works are widely used in schools and universities worldwide, although attempts have been made to ban her books from some U.S. libraries.