SOURCE: “The Pulse of Morning,” in Maya Angelou: More Than a Poet, Enslow Publishers, Inc., 1996, pp. 5–13.

In the following vignette, Slivinski Lisandrelli depicts Angelou's composition and presentation of the Clinton inauguration poem “In the Pulse of Morning.”

In a country store in the dusty town of Stamps, Arkansas, a young girl sits near the candy counter. Outside, a sharp wind rustles through the shingles, but inside a potbellied stove warms the small store. Between customers she often writes poetry or reads from her beloved books.¹ These pursuits take her mind off the pain of growing up in the segregated South of the 1930s, where opportunities are denied to her because she is African American. On this day she memorizes the Presidents of the United States in chronological order.²

A tap on the counter disturbs her concentration. She never intended to ignore the customer who came to patronize her...