Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now Book

Maya Angelou recites her poem for Bill Clinton's 1993 inauguration.

MAYA Angelou, author of the best-selling books I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Gather Together in My Name, and the Heart of a Woman, has also written several collections of poetry, including Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie. She read her poem On the Pulse of Morning at the inauguration of President William Jefferson Clinton on January 20, 1993. She also wrote 10 one-hour programmes for the television series called 'Blacks, Blues, Blacks', which highlight Africanisms still current in American life.


Angelou struts her stuff with her partner.

However, the book under discussion here is Angelou's 1993 book Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now which is considered by many to be an inspirational book. Written in the form of short essays, this memoir muses on spirituality, people who have been important in her life, womanhood, racism, travel and other topics.


Angelou painted by Guy Stauber.

In 'New Directions' she writes: 'In 1903 the late Mrs Annie Johnson of Arkansas found herself with two toddling sons, very little money, a slight ability to read and add simple numbers. To this picture add a disastrous marriage and the burdensome fact that Mrs Johnson was a Negro.' Mr William Johnson too was dissatisfied with the marriage. He told her he wanted to preach in Enid, Oklahoma but he did not tell her that he knew a minister there with whom he could study and who had a friendly, unmarried daughter. The couple parted amicably. Annie, who was sturdy and over six feet tall, decided that she would not go to work as a domestic servant and leave her 'precious babes' to someone else's care.
In Annie's words: 'I looked up the road I was going and back the way I come, and since I wasn't satisfied, I decided to step off the road and cut me a new path.' Each morning Annie, armed with an iron brazier and coal, would walk three miles to a cotton mill, carrying two five-gallon pails filled with chicken pies. On reaching the venue she would cook fresh pies and sell it to the labourers for lunch. Then she would walk another five miles down the road to a lumber mill where she would sell her remaining pies. Towards evening she would walk back the eight miles to her house to take care of her babies and her home. The next day she would first walk to the saw mill to sell her pies and then to the cotton gin. She would walk a total of 16 miles everyday. Although business was slow at first, it gradually started picking up. When she was sure that the workers had become dependent on her, she built a stall between the two hives of industry and let the men come to her for their luncheon needs. She had indeed stepped down from the road which was leading her nowhere and cut herself a brand new path. Over time that stall became a store where customers could buy anything from cheese to cookies, and from writing tablets to soles for their worn-out leather shoes.
To conclude Annie Johnson's story I will borrow Angelou's words from her essay titled 'In All Ways a Woman': 'The woman warrior who is armed with wit and courage will be among the first to celebrate victory.'


Angelou's first album, Miss Calypso, produced in 1957, was made possible by the popularity of her nightclub act.

The power of her prose is such that it seems as fascinating as poetry. The following lines from the 'Power of the Word' will illustrate what I am alluding to: 'I am a big bird winging over high mountains, down into serene valleys. I am ripples of waves on silver seas. I'm a spring leaf trembling in anticipation.' The reader could easily mistake these lines to be from a poem had they not been told otherwise in advance.


Maya Angelou: author, poet, civil rights activist, singer, dancer, professor, first San Francisco woman cable car conductor... the renaissance woman.

While writing about her mother, the late Vivian Baxter, she writes, 'She practiced stepping off the expected road and cutting herself a brand-new path anytime the desire arose. She inspired me to write the poem 'Mrs V. B.':
Ships? Sure I'll sail them.
Show me the boat,
If it'll float,
I'll sail it.
Men? Yes, I'll love them.
If they've got style,
To make me smile,
I'll love them.
Life? 'Course I'll live it.
Just enough breath,
Until my death,
And I'll live it.
Failure? I'm not ashamed to tell it,
I never learned to spell it.
Not Failure.


Angelou poses with her book that found her fame and fortune.

In the anecdote titled 'Complaining', Angelou's grandmother is teaching her a few things about life or rather how to lead a better life by fighting against all odds: 'So you watch yourself about complaining, sister. What you're supposed to do when you don't like a thing is change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it. Don't complain.'


Maya Angelou framed with President Barack Obama.

In 'Voices of Respect', the African-American author writes: 'We have used terms to help us survive slavery, its aftermath, and today's crisis of revived racism. However, now, when too many children run mad in the land, and now, when we need courtesy as much as or more than ever, and when a little tenderness between people could make life more bearable, we are losing even the appearance of courtesy. Our youth, finding little or no courtesy at home, make exodus into streets filled with violent self-revulsion and an exploding vulgarity.'
Replace the word 'racism' with 'ethnicity and sectarianism' and you almost feel that these lines have been written about Pakistan in general, and Karachi in particular. So the youth of the US, the Big Bully, are no better than those of Pakistan.
She concludes: 'We must recreate an attractive and caring attitude in our homes and in our worlds.' The same holds true for Pakistan.


The audio-book of 'Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now'.

In an anecdote titled 'Our Boys' she writes about befriending a Jew while interviewing him for the television programme 'Blacks, Blues, Blacks'. However, she is later extremely hurt to learn that he is, in fact, a racist and hates blacks, which is why the first line reads: 'Here is a dark little tale which exposes the general pain of racism.' Had the incident been the other way around, poor Maya Angelou would not only have been labelled an 'anti-Semite' but would also have been blacklisted by the media as well as book publishers.


A painting of Maya Angelou in an African dress.

In the essay titled 'Jealousy', she writes, 'It must be remembered, however, that jealousy in romance is like salt in food. A little can enhance the savour, but too much can spoil the pleasure and, under certain circumstances, can be life-threatening.'
Do these words need further explanation? I don't think so as Angelou has herself said it so brilliantly.


Angelou's poem on a porcelain mug.