“THOSE WHO BAN BOOKS”
by Maya Angelou
An original poem written exclusively for RHI Magazine
They were scared of sexes and hexes
and multi-colored sheets.
And men and women doing even
consensual things.
They banned a same-sex marriage room
and Judy Blume
Charles Dickens Chicken-Lickin and
Why the Caged Bird Sings
here is a poster which shows the likeness of Dickens, James Baldwin, Mark Twain,
Kurt Vonnegut, Shakespeare, Judy Blume and Maya Angelou.
I know that puts me into wonderful company, but I pity the young students
who, because of someone else’s ignorance, and at someone else’s whim, are unable
to read Twain, Baldwin, Shakespeare and Angelou. They will miss some delight. N
T
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RHI: Censorship & Banned Books
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About the Writer
MAYA ANGELOU, poet, writer, performer, teacher, and director, was raised in
Stamps, Arkansas, and then moved to San Francisco. In addition to her bestselling
autobiographies, beginning with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, she has also
written a cookbook, Hallelujah! The Welcome Table; five poetry collections, including I Shall Not Be Moved and Shaker, Why Don’t You Sing?; and the celebrated
poem “On the Pulse of Morning,” which she read at the inauguration of President William Jefferson
Clinton. To Have the Heart to Hope, an essay collection, is being published in the Fall of 2008.
Books by Maya Angelou
All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes
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Amazing Peace!#HRISTMAS0OEM NEW!
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!LSOAVAILABLEINA9OUNG2EADERSEDITION
ILLUSTRATEDBY3TEVE*OHNSONAND,OU
&ANCHER
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And Still I Rise
2ANDOM(OUSE(#
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!LSOAVAILABLEIN2ANDOM(OUSE!UDIO
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Celebrations2ITUALSOF0EACEAND0RAYER
2ANDOM(OUSE(#
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The Collected Autobiographies
of Maya Angelou
-ODERN,IBRARY(#
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The Complete Collected Poems
of Maya Angelou
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%VENTHE3TARS,OOK,ONESOME
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Gather Together in My Name
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Mother!#RADLETO(OLD-E
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Hallelujah! The Welcome Table
!,IFETIMEOF-EMORIESWITH2ECIPES
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My Painted House, My Friendly
#HICKENAND-E
)LLUSTRATEDBY-ARGARET#OURTNEY#LARKE
#ROWN"OOKSFOR9OUNG2EADERS42
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The Heart of a Woman
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I Shall Not Be Moved
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NEW!
Letter to My Daughter
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Phenomenal Woman
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Poems: Maya Angelou
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3INGINAND3WINGINAND
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A Song Flung Up to Heaven
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7OULDNT4AKE.OTHINGFOR-Y*OURNEY.OW
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!LSOAVAILABLEIN2ANDOM(OUSE(ARDCOVER
NEW!
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Maya Angelou!'LORIOUS#ELEBRATION
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RHI: Censorship & Banned Books
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