She Was Only The Second Poet In History To Recite Work At A Presidential Inauguration

To finish the list of facts about Maya Angelou, we will talk about her presentation in Bill Clinton's inarguation. The famous Robert Frost was the first poet to take part in the inauguration ceremony as President John F. Kennedy took the oath of office in 1961. The centuries-spanning epic "On the Pulse of Morning," which she penned for the occasion, was read aloud by Angelou at President Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993, making her the first poet to do so since Robert Frost. She won the 1994 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for her performance.

Change, inclusivity, accountability, and the President's and the people's roles in ensuring economic stability are among the poem's major topics. Critics have compared "On the Pulse of Morning" to Frost's inaugural poem and to Clinton's inauguration speech because of its symbols, allusions to current events, and personification of nature. Mixed assessments have been given to what has been referred to as Angelou's "autobiographical poem". Clinton's selection of Angelou as the inaugural poet and her "representation" of the American people and its president were welcomed in the popular press. According to critic Mary Jane Lupton, the poem "will be attributed" to Angelou's "ultimate greatness," and her "theatrical" delivery of it, using the abilities she developed as an actor and speaker, represented a return to the African-American oral tradition of speakers like Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X. Despite complimenting Angelou's performance, the poem received generally unfavorable reviews from poetry critics.