I Shall Not Be Moved

Random House publishes Angelou’s fifth collection of poetry, with 32 new poems about hard work and the struggles of African Americans, among other topics. On the meaning behind the title of the work:

I believe that every human being has within herself, within himself, a moral standard, a private place that should be invited, the place you go when you reach for that last breath and can’t get it, and you meet your maker, that place from which you should never be swayed or persuaded. It is a moral standard. And everybody should say, `I shall not be moved from this place.’ That is to say, `I will not even live at any cost.