Biography of Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou, more formally known as Marguerite Ann Johnson was born on April 4th, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. She was the child of Bailey Johnson and Vivian Baxter Johnson. When Maya was three years old, her parents got divorced. After they divorced, she and her older brother, Bailey Jr., were sent to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. They were not sent in a normal fashion, however. Angelou and her brother were placed on a train by themselves by their father. Their father then put a tag on each of them that said “To Whom It May Concern, send these two to Stamps, Arkansas.” With only each other for support, Angelou and her brother made their way to Stamps. In Stamps, their grandmother Annie Henderson owned a general store. While in Stamps, Angelou was subjected to a great deal of racism and discrimination because she was an African American. She grew up during a time where there was an unequal status between blacks and whites. Throughout her whole time in Stamps her grandmother helped her develop a strong sense of self so that she could withstand those racist times they lived in. Her grandmother knew that if she could help Angelou understand who she is and what she stood for, then none of those racist people could get to her.

A few years later in 1940, Angelou and her brother were then sent to live with their mother in San Francisco, California. At the time, her mother had a boyfriend who stayed with her in her apartment. Within a few months, her mother’s boyfriend had molested Angelou. At first Angelou didn’t say anything about what happened, but eventually told her brother Bailey. Bailey of course went to the police and told what had happened. The man was then put on trial. At first he was sentenced to one yea...

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...is one of my favorite poems written by her. This poem is ironically funny. In the poem she talks about when she gets the thought herself she laughs. She is laughing at the thought of herself becoming more than what she already is. It was ironic to me because a woman of such prestige and intelligence would ever have any faults to laugh at. I read this poem many times until I finally realized that the point she was trying to get across was that we are all human and we all have our flaws, so instead of being so critical of ourselves, we should learn to instead laugh at our flaws.

Overall Maya Angelou is one of the most influential writers out there. She can appeal to all audiences. No matter your age or race Maya Angelou has something to offer everyone. You may not understand the things she says at first but when the time is right, it will all make sense in the end.