Maya Angelou Reads Poem in New Apple Olympic Commercial

Poetry and the Olympics! This time the natural pair is made anew with Maya Angelou voicing her poem, "The Human Family," for an Apple commercial. Fortune reports that the poem ran during the Olympics opening ceremonies:

Apple on Thursday published a new ad as part of its “Shot on iPhone” campaign, which will air during the opening ceremonies on Friday at the Rio Olympics. The new TV spot, called “Human Family,” runs a minute long and shows images and video recorded by many different people as Angelou, who died in 2014 at the age of 86, recites her “Human Family” poem. The ad, which is currently online at Apple.com and YouTube, will air on television during the opening ceremonies.

“I note the obvious differences in the human family,” Angelou says over images and photos of people around the world. “Some of us are serious, some thrive on comedy. I’ve sailed upon the seven seas and stopped in every land, I’ve seen the wonders of the world not yet one common man. I know ten thousand women called Jane and Mary Jane, I’ve not seen any two who really were the same.”

Read more here. Thanks to Open Culture you can listen to the poem here. Or if reading is your pleasure, full text can be found here.