text: on the pulse of morning " on the pulse of morning " is a poem by african - american 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 at a presidential inauguration , and the first african american and woman . ( robert frost was the first inaugural poet , at the 1961 inauguration of john f. kennedy . ) angelou 's audio recording of the poem won the 1994 grammy award in the " best spoken word " category , resulting in more fame and recognition for her previous works , and broadening her appeal . the poem 's themes are change , inclusion , responsibility , and role of both the president and the citizenry in establishing economic security . its symbols , references to contemporary issues , and personification of nature has inspired critics to compare " on the pulse of morning " with frost 's inaugural poem and with clinton 's inaugural address . it has been called angelou 's " autobiographical poem " , and has received mixed reviews . the popular press praised clinton 's choice of angelou as inaugural poet , and her " " of the american people and its president . critic mary jane lupton said that " angelou 's ultimate greatness will be attributed " to the poem , and that angelou 's " theatrical " performance of it , using skills she learned as an actor and speaker , marked a return to the african - american oral tradition of speakers such as frederick douglass , martin luther king , jr. and malcolm x. poetry critics , despite praising angelou 's recitation and performance , gave mostly negative reviews of the poem . background when angelou wrote and recited " on the pulse of morning " , she was already well known as a writer and poet . she had written five of the seven of her series of autobiographies , including the first and most highly acclaimed , i know why the caged bird sings ( 1969 ) . although she was best known for her autobiographies , she was primarily known as a poet rather than an autobiographer . early in her writing career she began alternating the publication of an autobiography and a volume of poetry . her first volume of poetry just give me a cool drink of water ' fore i diiie , published in 1971 shortly after caged bird , became a best - seller and was nominated for a pulitzer prize . as scholar marcia ann gillespie writes , angelou had " fallen in love with poetry " during her early childhood in stamps , arkansas . after her rape at the age of eight , which she depicted in caged bird , angelou memorized and studied great works of literature , including poetry . according to caged bird , her friend mrs. flowers encouraged her to recite them , which helped bring her out her self - imposed period of muteness caused by her trauma . angelou was the first poet to read an inaugural poem since robert frost read his poem " the gift outright " at president john f. kennedy 's inauguration in 1961 , and the first black and woman . when it was announced that angelou would read one of her poems at clinton 's inauguration , many in the popular press compared her role as inaugural poet with that of frost 's , especially what critic zofia burr called their " representativeness " , or their ability to speak for and to the american people . the press also pointed to the nation 's social progress that a black woman would " stand in the place of a white man " at his inauguration , and praised angelou 's involvement as the clinton administration 's " gesture of inclusion " . angelou told her friend oprah winfrey that the call requesting her to write and recite the poem came from television producer harry thomason , who organized the inauguration , shortly after clinton 's election . even though she suspected that clinton made the request because " he understood that i am the kind of person who really does bring people together " , angelou admitted feeling overwhelmed , and even requested that the audiences attending her speaking engagements pray for her . she followed her same " writing ritual " that she had followed for years and used in writing all of her books and poetry : she rented a hotel room , closeted herself there from the early morning to the afternoon , and wrote on legal pads . after deciding upon the theme " america " , she wrote down everything she could think of about the country , which she then " pushed and squeezed into a poetic form " . angelou recited the poem on january 20 , 1993 . themes " on the pulse of morning " shared many of the themes in president clinton 's inaugural address , which he gave immediately before angelou read her poem , including change , responsibility , and the president 's and the citizenry 's role in establishing economic security . the symbols in angelou 's poem ( the tree , the river , and the morning , for example ) paralleled many of the same symbols clinton used in his speech , and helped to enhance and expand clinton 's images . clinton 's address and the poem , according to hagen , both emphasized unity despite the diversity of american culture . " on the pulse of morning " attempted to convey many of the goals of clinton 's new administration . burr compared angelou 's poem with frost 's , something she claimed the poetry critics who gave " on the pulse of morning " negative reviews did not do . angelou " rewrote " frost 's poem , from the perspective of personified nature that appeared in both poems . frost praised american colonization , but angelou attacked it . the cost of the creation of america was abstract and ambiguous in frost 's poem , but the personified tree in angelou 's poem signified the cultures in america that paid a significant cost to create it . both frost and angelou called for a " break with the past " , but frost wanted to relive it and angelou wanted to confront its mistakes . burr also compared angelou 's poem with audre lorde 's poem " for each of you " , which has similar themes of looking towards the future , as well as with walt whitman 's " song of myself " and langston hughes ' " the negro speaks of rivers " . according to hagen , the poem contains a recurring theme in many of angelou 's other poems and autobiographies , that " we are more alike than unalike " . " on the pulse of morning " was full of contemporary references , including toxic waste and pollution . angelou 's poem was influenced by the african - american oral tradition of spirituals , by poets such as james weldon johnson and langston hughes , and by modern african poets and folk artists such as kwesi brew and efua sutherland , which also influenced her autobiographies . critical response and impact according to lupton , " on the pulse of morning " is angelou 's most famous poem . lupton has argued that " angelou 's ultimate greatness will be attributed " to the poem , and that angelou 's " theatrical " performance of it , using skills she learned as an actor and speaker , marked a return to the african - american oral tradition of speakers such as frederick douglass , martin luther king , jr. and malcolm x. british reporter kate kellaway compared angelou 's appearance as she read the poem at clinton 's inauguration with the eight - year - old child in caged bird , noting that the coats she wore in both occasions were similar : " she looked magnificent , sternly theatrical with an unsmiling bow mouth . she wore a coat with brass buttons , a strange reminder of the eight - year - old maya angelou who stood in a courtroom , terrified at the sight of the man who had raped her " . gillespie stated regarding kellaway 's observations : " but standing tall on the steps of the capitol , she was light - years removed from that terrible time , and america was no longer an ' unfriendly place . ' her poem ' on the pulse of morning ' was a soaring call for peace , justice , and harmony . capturing the hope embodied in the human spirit , it was a solemn and joyful reminder that all things are possible . she wished us ' good morning ' in her poem , and one felt as if a new day was truly dawning . " angelou recognized that although " on the pulse of morning " was a better " public poem " than a great poem , her goal of conveying the message of unity was accomplished . poet david lehman agreed , stating that although it fulfilled its theatrical and political objectives , the poem was " not very memorable " . poet sterling d. found angelou 's performance " brilliant " , but was " not as enthusiastic about it as a text " . burr stated that the negative reviews of angelou 's poem , like the majority of the reviews about her other poetry , was due to their elitism and narrow views of poetry , which were limited to written forms rather than spoken ones like " on the pulse of morning " , which was written to recite aloud and perform . burr compared the response of literary critics to angelou 's poem with critics of frost 's poem : " frost 's powerful reading served to supplement the poem in the sense of enhancing it , while angelou 's powerful reading of her poem supplemented it in the sense of making evident its inadequacy and lack . " angelou 's recitation of " on the pulse of morning " resulted in more fame and recognition for her previous works , and broadened her appeal " across racial , economic , and educational boundaries " . the week after angelou 's recitation , sales of the paperback version of her books and poetry rose by 300 – 600 percent . bantam books had to reprint 400 , 000 copies of all her books to keep up with the demand . random house , which published angelou 's hardcover books and published the poem later that year , reported that they sold more of her books in january 1993 than they did in all of 1992 , accounting for a 1200 percent increase . the sixteen - page publication of the poem became a best - seller , and the recording of the poem was awarded a grammy award .