«A brilliant writer, a fierce friend and a truly phenomenal woman' President Barack Obama»

President Barack Obama

«The poems and stories she wrote . . . were gifts of wisdom and wit, courage and grace»

President Bill Clinton

«She moved through the world with unshakeable calm, confidence and a fierce grace . . . She will always be the rainbow in my clouds»

Oprah Winfrey

«She was important in so many ways. She launched African American women writing in the United States. She was generous to a fault. She had nineteen talents - used ten. And was a real original. There is no duplicate»

Toni Morrison

«Told with the humorous, unsentimental wisdom that has gained her such a devoted following»

Sunday Times

«Angelou conveys a sense of the period, complete with the pulsating rhythms of local slang, while her own elegantly gentle view provides the bigger perspective....Angelou has lived a life that deserves writing about, and only she can make that story sing with life.»

Scotsman

«It delivers the same essential charge of uplifting warmth, clear-eyed sagacity and indefatigable generosity of spirit, leaving us only to hope that another series, covering the latter portion of the roller-coaster's progress, might be in the offering.' S»

'It's been a long time coming, but A Song Flung Up To Heaven triumphantly completes the six volumes

«She has the knack of guiding us along the seamier side of life while making us feel refreshed and restored like a terrific gospel blues singer»

Guardian