--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I know some people might think it odd…" description: "\"I know some people might think it odd - unworthy even - for me to have written a cookbook, but I make no apologies. The U.S. poet laureate Billy Collin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/maya-angelou-104_apology_i-know-some-people-might-think-it-odd-un_1050864.png" --- # I know some people might think it odd - unworthy even… ![“I know some people might think it odd - unworthy even - for me to have written a cookbook, but I make no apologies. The U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins thought I had demeaned myself by writing poetry for Hallmark Cards, but I am the people's poet so I write for the people.” quote by Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/maya-angelou-104_apology_i-know-some-people-might-think-it-odd-un_1050864.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/maya-angelou-104_apology_i-know-some-people-might-think-it-odd-un_1050864.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/maya-angelou-104_apology_i-know-some-people-might-think-it-odd-un_1050864.png) > “I know some people might think it odd - unworthy even - for me to have written a cookbook, but I make no apologies. The U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins thought I had demeaned myself by writing poetry for Hallmark Cards, but I am the people's poet so I write for the people.” [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She embraces writing in any form, rejecting shame about genre and asserting her role as a poet for the people. **In simple terms:** She writes freely, no apologies for genre. Key Takeaway Write without fear of judgment. Themes authenticity genre voice public service Mood proud defiant hopeful Type personal defensive inspirational When to use this quote - publishing a cookbook - writing poetry for cards - speaking at literary events Key Concepts self‑acceptance cultural relevance artistic freedom Questions to Reflect On - What drives you to write for diverse audiences? - How does genre affect perceived value? A Different Perspective Critics may still label work as lowbrow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apology/) [Hallmark card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hallmark-card/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-poetry/) ## Related quotes > [If I'm the people's poet, then I ought to be in people's hands - and, I hope, in their heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-i-m-the-people-s-poet-then-i-ought-to-be-in-people-s-hands-and-i/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [The poet is the voice of the people. And when the poet presents certain ideas, two phrases in one poem can alter a generation's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donovan/the-poet-is-the-voice-of-the-people-and-when-the-poet-presents/) [Donovan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donovan/) > [“The poet's nature is all searching, creator and nourisher of desire; the poet is like the heart in a people's breast, a people without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-muhammad-iqbal-allama-iqbal/the-poet-s-nature-is-all-searching-creator-and-nourisher-of-desire/) [Sir Muhammad Iqbal Allama Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-muhammad-iqbal-allama-iqbal/) > [People can't see that if I had not been a poet, I could never have had such success as a traveler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/people-can-t-see-that-if-i-had-not-been-a-poet-i-could-never-have-had/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [The poet or the revolutionary is there to articulate the necessity, but until the people themselves apprehend it, nothing can happen ... Perhaps it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-poet-or-the-revolutionary-is-there-to-articulate-the-necessity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The following obituary appeared in the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph of Sept. 16, 1958: A GREAT POET died last week in Lancieux, France, at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-service/the-following-obituary-appeared-in-the-pittsburgh-sun-telegraph-of/) [Robert Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-service/) > [If you would get money as a writer or lecturer, you must be popular, which is to go down perpendicularly… You are paid for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-you-would-get-money-as-a-writer-or-lecturer-you-must-be-popular/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I'm a student at Harvard University, and currently work as the United States Youth Poet Laureate, a community organizer, and an activist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-gorman/i-m-a-student-at-harvard-university-and-currently-work-as-the-united/) [Amanda Gorman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-gorman/) > [“You know what I love about you? You can go from cussing sailor to poet laureate in three seconds without batting an eyelash. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgina-guthrie/you-know-what-i-love-about-you-you-can-go-from-cussing-sailor-to-poet/) [Georgina Guthrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgina-guthrie/) > [Being Poet Laureate made me realize I was capable of a larger voice. There is a more public utterance I can make as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/being-poet-laureate-made-me-realize-i-was-capable-of-a-larger-voice/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [There are distinct duties of a poet laureate. I plan a reading series at the Library of Congress and advise the librarian. The rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/there-are-distinct-duties-of-a-poet-laureate-i-plan-a-reading-series/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [People write me from all over the country, asking me, and sometimes even telling me, what they think a poet laureate should do. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/people-write-me-from-all-over-the-country-asking-me-and-sometimes/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [I certainly was surprised to be named Poet Laureate of this far-out city on the left side of the world, and I gratefully accept,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/i-certainly-was-surprised-to-be-named-poet-laureate-of-this-far-out/) [Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/) > [As poet laureate, I was asked to be a spokesman for literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/as-poet-laureate-i-was-asked-to-be-a-spokesman-for-literature/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [“So I don’t think I’ll make Poet Laureate, but I swear I’m not twisted and bitter, If finely-wrought talents don’t weigh in the balance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosy-cole/so-i-don-t-think-i-ll-make-poet-laureate-but-i-swear-i-m-not-twisted/) Rosy Cole ## More by Maya Angelou > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You are very kind and very intelligent and those elements are not always found together. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-are-very-kind-and-very-intelligent-and-those-elements-are-not/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I agreed a long time ago, I would not live at any cost. If I am moved or forced away from what I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-agreed-a-long-time-ago-i-would-not-live-at-any-cost-if-i-am-moved/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You want me to do something... tell me I can't do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-want-me-to-do-something-tell-me-i-can-t-do-it/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Intelligence is a separate gift, for the benefit of students, so that they may think of themselves as intellectual and not very intelligent, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/intelligence-is-a-separate-gift-for-the-benefit-of-students-so-that/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life is going to give you just what you put in it. Put your whole heart in everything you do, and pray, then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-is-going-to-give-you-just-what-you-put-in-it-put-your-whole/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-your-bitter-twisted-lies-you/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/the-more-you-know-of-your-history-the-more-liberated-you-are/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life offers us tickets to places which we have not knowingly asked for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-offers-us-tickets-to-places-which-we-have-not-knowingly-asked-for/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm working at trying to be a Christian, and that's serious business. It's like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-m-working-at-trying-to-be-a-christian-and-that-s-serious-business/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that easy reading is damn hard writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/nathaniel-hawthorne-once-said-that-easy-reading-is-damn-hard-writing/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Sunday, if I'm lucky, I'll go to church or listen to some good spiritual advice on the television or on the radio. I take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/sunday-if-i-m-lucky-i-ll-go-to-church-or-listen-to-some-good/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) [Explore all 1,313 Maya Angelou quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## More Apology quotes > [The greatest act of courage is to be and to ownall of who you are—without apology, without excuses, without masks to cover the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-ford/the-greatest-act-of-courage-is-to-be-and-to-ownall-of-who-you-are/) [Debbie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-ford/) > [Apologies are not pass/fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-pausch/apologies-are-not-pass-fail/) [Randy Pausch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-pausch/) > [“Why do we apologize for advocating for ourselves? Why do we apologize for taking up space that we are entitled to? Why do we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-tambascio/why-do-we-apologize-for-advocating-for-ourselves-why-do-we-apologize/) Elizabeth Tambascio > [It's hard to say sorry when It's really your fault.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rakii-retondo/it-s-hard-to-say-sorry-when-it-s-really-your-fault/) [Rakii Retondo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rakii-retondo/) > [“A lady need never apologize. ~ Joseph de Bonaparte (Brother of Napoleon)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-pataki/a-lady-need-never-apologize-joseph-de-bonaparte-brother-of-napoleon/) Allison Pataki > [And apologies, once postponed, become harder and harder to make, and finally impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/and-apologies-once-postponed-become-harder-and-harder-to-make-and/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [In the formation of such a government, it is not only the right, but the indispensable duty of every citizen to examine the principles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-webster/in-the-formation-of-such-a-government-it-is-not-only-the-right-but/) [Noah Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-webster/) > [Apologizing does not always mean you are wrong, it just means that value your relationships more than your ego.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinier-bennett/apologizing-does-not-always-mean-you-are-wrong-it-just-means-that/) [Chinier Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinier-bennett/) > [If I can get enough signatures, to present an apology to slavery, I will present it to the President. The House of Representatives has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-douglas/if-i-can-get-enough-signatures-to-present-an-apology-to-slavery-i/) [Kirk Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-douglas/) > [“I don’t care if you’ve changed. I don’t care who you are now. I don’t need or want your explanations because what you did,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-young/i-don-t-care-if-you-ve-changed-i-don-t-care-who-you-are-now-i-don-t/) [Samantha Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-young/) > [I never said Kristen ruined my wedding. At the time, when a million other things had fallen apart that day, I felt like she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scheana-shay/i-never-said-kristen-ruined-my-wedding-at-the-time-when-a-million/) [Scheana Shay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scheana-shay/) > [The greatest form of maturity is at harvest time. This is when we must learn how to reap without complaint if the amounts are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/the-greatest-form-of-maturity-is-at-harvest-time-this-is-when-we-must/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [“It's clear he still feels something, but what? Is the whole reason he made such a big deal about wanting to talk to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carey-heywood/it-s-clear-he-still-feels-something-but-what-is-the-whole-reason-he/) [Carey Heywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carey-heywood/) > [I wasn't saying whatever they're saying I was saying. I'm sorry I said it really. I never meant it to be a lousy anti-religious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/i-wasn-t-saying-whatever-they-re-saying-i-was-saying-i-m-sorry-i-said/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [For every person who atones, a hundred others find regret sufficient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/for-every-person-who-atones-a-hundred-others-find-regret-sufficient/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) [Browse all 1,300 Apology quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apology/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I know some people might think it odd - unworthy even - for me to have written a cookbook, but I make no apologies. 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