I Shall Not Be Moved - ISBNLookup.com

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Angelou's poems embrace opposite poles: the laughter of old folks who ``generously forgive life for happening to them,'' and the ``helpless hope'' on the faces of starving children. Though she can be directly political, as in a stinging letter to ``These Yet to Be United States,'' more often, a political dimension emerges naturally from ordinary lives observed with keen irony (``Even minimal people can't survive on minimal wage''). Angelou's themes include loss of love and youth, human oneness in diversity, the strength of blacks in the face of racism and adversity. The book's title is also the refrain of ``Our Grandmothers,'' a moving history poem about the struggles of black women. Some of these lyrics are free-form, while others use conventional rhyme and meter to good effect. Angelou ( I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings ) writes with poise and grace. Author tour. (May)

Library Journal

Angelou speaks eloquently of black life, unfolding a significant history in poems that are highly controlled and yet powerful: ``She lay, skin down on the moist dirt,/ the canebrake rustling/ with the whispers of leaves, and/ loud longing of hounds and/ the ransack of hunters crackling the near branches.'' Here, the language is precise and filled with imagery. Like Gwendolyn Brooks, Angelou's poems are sparsely written while still revealing painful truths to the reader: ``She stands/ before the abortion clinic,/ confounded by the lack of choices./ In the Welfare line,/ reduced to the pity of handouts.'' An important new collection from one of the most distinctive writers at work today.-- Lenard D. Moore, Writer-in-Residence, Wake Cty. Arts Council, N . C .

School Library Journal

Angelou's fifth book of poetry conveys the complexity, richness, exuberance, and tragedy of the black experience in language that is personal, pithy, and immediate. ``I shall not be moved'' is the haunting refrain from the poem ``Our Grandmothers, '' a pledge of moral courage referring to the most heartfelt stand from which one will not budge. It is a majestic poem about the immense pain of history and the moral stamina needed to remain true to oneself. In other poems, Angelou's style varies from the lighthearted fun of ``Seven Women's Blessed Assurance,'' to the clever wordplay of ``Man Bigot,'' to the inspiring pathos of ``Ailey, Baldwin, Floyd, and Killens.'' Funny, reflective, illuminating, and honest, the poems in this slim volume possess the drama of the storyteller and the imagery and soul of the poet. --Jacqueline Gropman, Fairfax County Public Library, VA