4 stars

This is a phenomenal collection of poetry. Insightful, enlightening, humorous, heartbreaking, lyrical, amazing. The range of topics and style makes each poem feel unique. I really loved the flow and rhythm of the poems. Some of my favorites were “Phenomenal Woman”, “Willie”, “One More Round”, “Still I Rise”, “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me”, “In Retrospect”, “Caged Bird”, and “The Last Decision” (pretty much everything in Shaker, Why Don’t You Sing was a hit for me). I really enjoyed the flow of the poetry throughout the book as well. By Shaker, Why Don’t You Sing, you can really tell how much Angelou matured and evolved in her writing.