U.S. Postal Service Honors Maya Angelou With Forever Stamp

Posted on March 6, 2015

The U.S. Postal Service is honoring activist, author and poet Maya Angelou with a Forever Stamp. The dedication ceremony will take place April 7 at the Warner Theater in Washington, DC.

The stamp features an image of an oil-on-canvas portrait by artist Ross Rossin. This painting is part of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery's collection. The stamp also features the following quote by Maya: "A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song."

Rossin says in a statement, "During my visit to her Winston-Salem, NC, home I spoke with Maya for several hours about her life journey and courage of finding the light in the midst of her darkness. It is her energy, the God Particle which struck me. Later that evening, Oprah Winfrey hosted a birthday party for Angelou. This was the critical moment when I saw Maya through the eyes of others. My personal experience around Maya's aura led to the creation of an intimate yet universal painting, which later Maya enthusiastically approved."

The stamp pane will include an excerpt from Maya's book, Letter to My Daughter. The excerpt begins, "Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud."

Maya died last year at age 86. Random House will be releasing a book of poetry, The Complete Poetry, by Maya Angelou on March 31.

Image: U.S. Postal Service