ALL GOD’S CHILDREN NEED TRAVELING SHOES ...

ALL GOD’S CHILDREN NEED TRAVELING SHOES by Maya Angelou (Vintage: $9). The noted author/poet describes her attempt to live in Ghana as a “Revolutionist Returnee” during the ‘60s in this vivid memoir. Angelou found an unexpected heritage of ethnic pride in the strong, free people she saw around her: “Black and brown skin did not herald debasement and a divinely created inferiority. We were capable of controlling our cities, our selves and our lives with elegance and success. Whites were not needed to explain the workings of the world, nor the mysteries of the mind.” But this joyous discovery was accompanied by realization that her life in the United States had irrevocably molded her character. Africa might be a revelation, but it also represented an alien tradition: The author learned that she was not African, but African-American. An accomplished poet, Angelou has an ear for the resonant phrase or image: “In that second I was wounded. My mind struck a truth as an elbow can strike a table edge.” This fascinating book offers valuable insights to anyone seeking to establish a coherent identity in an increasingly fragmented society.