Unlike written speech which is intended to be spoken, delivering poetry is different.
The meaning is important—it is defiant and powerful in its intent. Recorded by NPR in 2014, this lacks the setting, the place, or even the audience that a typical speech would provide. Instead, we are left listening to the distilled voice of the author’s poetry. Unlike where a crowd could aid the build up of a speech, Maya Angelou’s delivery of the poem still has a similar effect.