''Celebrations, Rituals of Peace and Prayer ''is a collection of poetry by African American writer and poet Maya Angelou, published by

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

in 2006. The volume contains 12 poems, five of which were previously published. Critic Richard Long called two of the previously published poems, "

On the Pulse of Morning "On the Pulse of Morning" is a poem by writer and poet Maya Angelou that she read at the first inauguration of President Bill Clinton on January 20, 1993. With her public recitation, Angelou became the second poet in history to read a poem ...

" and " A Brave and Startling Truth", Angelou's "public" poems.Long, Richard. (2005). "Maya Angelou". ''Smithsonian'' 36, (8): p. 84 She read "On the Pulse of Morning", her most famous poem, at the inauguration of President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

in 1993. In 1995, she recited "A Brave and Startling Truth" during the 50th anniversary commemoration of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

. "Amazing Peace" was read during the annual

National Christmas Tree The National Christmas Tree is a large evergreen tree located in the northeast quadrant of the Ellipse near the White House in Washington, D.C. Each year since 1923, the tree has been decorated as a Christmas tree. Every year, early in Decembe ...

lighting in 2005, and "Mother" was written for

Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in th ...

in 2006.See collection's dedication page.

References

2006 books American poetry collections Random House books Poetry by Maya Angelou Books by Maya Angelou {{Poetry-collection-stub