Poets Reading Poetry: Maya Angelou

Poetry is meant to be read aloud, but rarely is. As Oscar Wilde once said, "A poet can survive everything but a misprint."

So, cutting out the middle man, here is where we'll post famous poets reading their own poetry--the words off the page and in your ears, as they intended. And hopefully nothing is lost in the process.

By 1978, Maya Angelou was already a well known and established writer, be it autobiographies, poetry, drama, or even song lyrics. (She wrote songs for Roberta Flack of "Killing Me Softly" fame, most notably.) Throughout this early phase in her career she often alternated between writing a portion of her autobiography and a volume of poetry--and had completed three such autobiographies by the publication of 'Phenomenal Woman,' which was published in book form the first time in the volume And Still I Rise.

Curiously enough, the poem itself was published first in Cosmopolitan magazine. Yes, the same one that today we associate with cover stories on the Kardashian clan used to be more, shall we say, well rounded. In the 1970s the magazine might still talk about sex and have semi-nude centerfolds of Burt Reynolds, but it also posted serious pieces of literary merit--which is where Angelou found one of her most famous poems.

'Phenomenal Woman' is typical of Angelou's poetic style. Shorter lines, irregular rhyme, monosyllabic words--all of it appears in maybe her most famous poem. But like much of her poetry, it's best when she reads it herself, in an unmistakable voice that can only be Angelou. In this clip (accompanied by music for unknown reasons), she reads it at a speedier clip not usually associated with her more deliberate speaking tone. Instead, there's a musical beat to her pacing, her slightly nasal, gravelly tone accompanied by accented syllables showcasing an upbringing located across the American landscape--southern, midwestern, western. She chooses to skip a word here and there from the original text of them poem. But it's her poem. She can read it however she wants:


Phenomenal Woman

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size   
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,   
The stride of my step,   
The curl of my lips.   
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,   
That’s me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,   
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.   
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.   
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,   
And the flash of my teeth,   
The swing in my waist,   
And the joy in my feet.   
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Men themselves have wondered   
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them,   
They say they still can’t see.   
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,   
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.   
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.   
When you see me passing,
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,   
The bend of my hair,   
the palm of my hand,   
The need for my care.   
’Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.