What makes a phenomenal woman? A phenomenal woman she was, Mrs. Maya Angelou truly inspired and touched people all over the world with her art and wisdom. On April 24, 1928 in St. Louis Missouri Maya Angelou was born as Marguerite Ann Johnson, I know what your thinking how did she get her glorious name Maya Angelou; well she was given the name Maya Angelou in her early twenties, after her first performance as a dancer at the Purple Onion cabaret. Growing up Angelou had stable parents her mother was Vivian Johnson a nurse and realtor, her father was Bailey Johnson and he served as a naval dietician. In about 1931 her parents relationship would resort to a divorce leaving her younger brother and she to live with their grandmother in Stamps in …show more content…
She also published several collections of poetry, including Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Die (1971), which was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. One of Angelou's most famous works is the poem "On the Pulse of Morning," which she wrote especially for and recited at President Bill Clinton's inaugural ceremony in January 1993 marking the first inaugural recitation since 1961, when Robert Frost delivered his poem "The Gift Outright" at President John F. Kennedy's inauguration. Angelou went on to win a Grammy Award (best spoken word album) for the audio version of the poem. In 1995, Angelou was lauded for remaining on The New York Times' paperback nonfiction best-seller list for two years the longest-running record in the chart's history. Seeking new creative challenges, Angelou made her directorial debut in 1998 with Down in the Delta, starring Alfre Woodard. She also wrote a number of inspirational works, from the essay collection Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now (1994) to her advice for young women in Letter to My Daughter (2008). Interested in health, Angelou has even published cookbooks, including Hallelujah! The Welcome Table: A Lifetime of Memories With Recipes (2005) and Great Food, All Day Long (2010). Angelou's career has seen numerous accolades, including the Chicago International Film Festival's 1998 Audience Choice Award and a nod from the Acapulco Black Film Festival in 1999 for Down in the Delta; and two NAACP Image Awards in the outstanding literary work (nonfiction) category, for her 2005 cookbook and 2008's Letter to My Daughter. Martin Luther King Jr., a close friend of Angelou's, was assassinated on her birthday (April 4) in 1968. Angelou stopped celebrating her
This piece of autobiographical works is one of the greatest pieces of literature and will continue to inspire young and old black Americans to this day be cause of her hard and racially tense background is what produced an eloquent piece of work that feels at times more fiction than non fiction
"Angelou, Maya (née Marguerite Annie Johnson)." Encyclopedia of African-american Writing. Amenia: Grey House Publishing, 2009. Credo Reference. Web. 12 March 2014.
It appears Maya Angelou could answer the timeless question what does it mean to be a women?” She shows her confidence and pride in her identity as a women in the poem “Phenomenal Woman” that I found on the internet. She says,
Maya Angelou is one of the most known African American poets."Dr. Angelou’s words and actions continue to stir our souls, energize our bodies, liberate our minds, and heal our hearts." (http://mayaangelou.com/bio/) She was born on April 4th 1928, in the South St. Louis, Missouri. This period was when the most racism was going on. It was quite over with yet, segregation was still a huge series going on. Maya Angelou was greatly influenced by the Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights Movement was a movements in the United States which they has a goal was to end segregation and discrimination against African Americans, or Blacks and give them their voting rights. I believe that Maya Angelou's writing has became more positive after the Civil Right Movement had taken place, it had inspiration and was hoping for the blacks to succeed the goal trying to get reached of them to became more civilized.
Maya Angelou was one of America’s greatest writers in history. She was known for her many writings and for her part in Civil Rights Movements. Maya Angelou went through many hardships during her childhood, the most prevalent of those, racism over her skin color. This racism affected where she grew up, where she went to school, even where she got a job. “My education and that of my Black associates were quite different from the education of our white schoolmates. In the classroom we all learned past participles, but in the streets and in our homes the Blacks learned to drops s’s from plurals and suffixes from past tense verbs.” (Angelou 221) Maya Angelou was a strong believer in a good education and many of those beliefs were described in her
Angelou maintained nearly complete silence for five years,"(Author Study: M. Angelou). She moved to Arkansas, where she continued to stay mute. “During these years, she retreated to a sheltered world of writing in which her creative being spawned and flourished” (Gaines 1). She started to dig her head into the books and that is known to be the beginning of her writing. “She read black authors like Langston Hughes, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Paul Lawrence Dunbar, as well as canonical works by William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and Edgar Allan Poe”(Maya Angelou).
Angelou, Maya, Diego Rivera, and Linda Sunshine. Still I Rise. New York: Random House, 2001. Print.
Dr. Angelou has served on two presidential committees, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Arts in 2000, the Lincoln Medal in 2008, and has received 3 Grammy Awards. President Clinton requested that she compose a poem to read at his inauguration in 1993. Dr. Angelou's reading of her poem "On the Pulse of the Morning" was broadcast live around the world. Dr. Angelou’s words and actions continue to stir our souls, energize our bodies, liberate our minds, and heal our hearts.
"I had decided that St. Louis was a foreign country. In my mind I had only stayed there for a few weeks. As quickly as I understood that I had not reached my home, I sneaked away to Robin's Hood's Forest and the caves of Alley Oop where all reality was unreal and even that changed my day. I carried the same shield that I had used in Stamps: 'I didn't come to stay.'"
Every child searches for individuality; what makes everyone unique? As a child, surroundings will shape who a person becomes. So a child raised in secure suburbs might be more trusting than a child who lives in a large city. Different environments will without a doubt put people in uncomfortable and sometimes unfortunate circumstances. Environment as a whole is what affects how a child behaves, thinks, and reacts to certain situations. In the novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou exposes her own struggle to find identity as she endured racial hardships and sexual abuse.
Maya Angelou is an author and poet who has risen to fame for her emotionally filled novels and her deep, heartfelt poetry. Her novels mainly focus on her life and humanity with special emphasis on her ideas of what it means to live. The way she utilizes many different styles to grab and keep readers’ attention through something as simple as an autobiography is astounding. This command of the English language and the grace with which she writes allows for a pleasant reading experience. Her style is especially prominent in "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", where the early events of Angelou’s life are vividly described to the reader in the postmodern literary fashion.
Maya Angelou's life growing up was not always perfect. Given the birth name of Marguerite Ann Johnson, Maya Angelou was borin in St. Louis, Missouri on April 4th, 1928. Although she was born there, she spent most of her childhood in Stamps, Arkansas with her Grandmother, Annie Henderson and in San Fransico, California with her mother. Maya Angelou is still living today and teaches at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. Maya had to deal with many hard things growing up and although it wasn't perfect, she's lead a very eventful life.
The early 1930’s a time where segregation was still an issue in the United States it was especially hard for a young African American girl who is trying to grow and become an independent woman. At this time, many young girls like Maya Angelou grew up wishing they were a white woman with blond hair and blue eyes. That was just the start of Angelou's problems though. In the autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou goes into great depth about her tragic childhood, from moving around to different houses, and running away and having a child at the age of 16. This shows how Maya overcame many struggles as a young girl.
Society creates the thought of what makes an ideal woman; however, Maya Angelou shows us what truly makes an authentic woman in her poem, “Phenomenal Woman.” The word “Phenomenal” is defined as something that is magnificent, remarkable, breathtaking, as well as extraordinary. This poem illustrates confidence and beauty from within, instead of the conventional view that society tends to have, which only focuses on the appearance. She shows how to acknowledge womanhood. One is able to appreciate the poem, even further, by analyzing many of the poetry elements that Maya Angelou illustrates, such as imagery, tone, and diction.
It is said that when we look in the mirror, we see our reflection; but what is it that we really see? Some people look through the glass and see a totally different person. All across the world identity is an issue that many women have. Woman today must be skinny, tall, thick, fair skinned and have long hair in order to be considered beautiful. Maya Angelou feels otherwise, as she gives women another way to look at themselves through her poem "Phenomenal Woman".