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.
Racism played a really big role in Maya Angelou’s life. Maya Angelou experienced poverty and sexism when she was only eight years old. Maya Angelou is the kind of author who writes for the black voice. When Maya Angelou was very young, she was raped by one of her mother’s boyfriends. After this incident, Maya Angelou didn’t talk for almost five years to anyone except to her trusted brother, Bailey. There was only one person who helped Maya Angelou get over her silent treatment and her name was Mrs. Flowers. Mrs. Flowers had a really big influence on Maya Angelou, which is why she was one of her idols. Maya Angelou felt special and proud when she was withMrs. Flowers, who also motivated her to become a writer. In her poem she says, “I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide, welling and swelling I bear in the tide, leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise” (Maya Angelou “Still I Rise”). In this quote, Maya Angelou is trying to describe the burden she is carrying. In another one of her poems she writes, “I cannot scream. A bone of fear clogs my thr...
Marguerite Ann Johnson more commonly known today as “Maya Angelou is an American author and poet” (absolute astronomy, web). She was a key component in the civil rights movement and worked alongside figureheads Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. In the course of her lifetime she has held several different occupations some of which being a “poet, memoirist, novelist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Angelou has received over 50 honorary degress, and is a professor of American studies at Wake Forest University.” (Maya Angelou official website) In 1969 one of Angelou’s most notable works I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was published. This semi biographical work caused her to gain fame “as a spokesperson for the black community and more specifically black women.” (starglimpse, web)
Marguerite Anne Johnson, better known as Maya Angelou, was born on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. She was born and raised in an era that involved the Great Depression and World War I. When her parents divorced at a young age, she and her brother were sent to live with her grandmother in a heavily racially segregated Stamps , Arkansas. She found solace in her brother, Bailey, in the hard times produced by the South. This segregation was severe in this era, especially for shy young Marguerite. Throughout her childhood, she was sent from her grandmother to her father and mother. All these different environments exposed Angelou to a series of experiences including: racism, segregation, music, and politics. These experiences were most likely what prompted her to chronicle her life through autobiographical works as well as poems. In these works, Angelou utilizes elements such as literary devices, poetic devices, allusions, recurring themes and symbols to portray
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
Ms. Angelou left her birth place as a young child after her parents had broken up. Ms. Angelou and her brother were sent to live with her fathers’ Mother in Stamps, Arkansas. Some may call Ms. Angelou’s 1969 autobiography ”I Know Why the Caged Bird Sing” her claim to fame, some may call her poetry her occupation, and more over there are still some that would like to call her Freelance writings Maya Angelou’s life’s work. Ms. Angelou was so much more. Ms. Angelou has been known for being a Civil Rights activist, a poet, a philosopher, a teacher, an Award-winning Author, an actress, a screenwriter and the
Maya Angelou is one of most well-known poets ever. Her work is a reflection of her hardships during her childhood and her life as an adult. She expressed many of her opinions through her poetry and other writing. Many of her poems revolve around equality and freedom because she grew up in the segregated era and worked with civil right activist. The poems she writes are to inspire the lives of others. Till this day, Maya Angelou is still continuing to write inspiring poetry.
...ouble, but always leaving me with a happy ending. Maya Angelou had a very difficult life with the many challenges she faced being an African American during the timeframe of her life and she outlined these troubles in most of her writings. Given her circumstances she just kept moving forward and giving it her best without giving up and look at her now, she is a great model for anyone to follow.
While reading "Courage Courses through Maya Angelou's story; Writer and activist agrees social problems persist" by Fish Griwkowsky. Maya Angelou is a very strong individual, not physically but mentally. Her life struggles and the strength she was able to maintain through those devilish times of her life made her the successful person she is now. She worked hard enough to become an iconic writer, poet, even in front of major films as an actor/filmmaker. Only hard work and dedication can get people where they want to be in life. Maya Angelou took risks and sacrifice, those hard times she went through gave her the strength to be successful. (Griwkowsky)
Maya Angelou is a strong woman, how she manages to hold herself together made me feel as if she could speak to all audiences. She prevailed and picked herself up no matter long it had taken. For example, "As a result of a traumatic experience, she had become depressed and withdrawn and unable, or unwilling, to speak "yet after a year of moping around the house things made a change for the best . For me she brought a sense of nostalgia,many of us growing up have all came across something we had a sweet spot for, an attachment to, or love for. An example "the sweet chocolate drops that I loved more than anything in the world" does not just apply to food, but a place, or person,made me think of my favorite delights I sought out for as a child giving off a warming effect in my memory. Her relationship with Mrs. Bertha Flowers I found was inspiring, touching, and respectful.
"Angelou, Maya (née Marguerite Annie Johnson)." Encyclopedia of African-american Writing. Amenia: Grey House Publishing, 2009. Credo Reference. Web. 12 March 2014.
Maya Angelou lived through a time where she was discriminated against for not only her race but also her gender. In her poem “Still I Rise” Angelou sarcastically talks about how no matter what is thrown at her she will rise above it and she will do it with resilience and confidence. Her poem discusses racism and sexism and gives minorities and women a sense of hope to overcome and endure both of those things. Angelou’s self-assurance in the poem makes you believe that you too can overcome whatever obstacle. Although this poem was intended for blacks, and women, and specifically black women, the poem helps build up strong and courageous people no matter what race or gender you are. Maya Angelou in “Still I Rise” uses both pathos and ethos to
The graduation scene from I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings illustrates how, living in the midst of racism and unequal access to opportunity, Maya Angelou was able to surmount the obstacles that stood in her way of intellectual develop and find "higher ground." One of the largest factors responsible for Angelou's academic success was her dedication to and capacity for hard work, "My work alone has awarded me a top place...No absences, no tardinesses, and my academic work was among the best of the year" (Angelou 13-14). Angelou worked hard and read a great deal in order to be able to perform on such a level, in spite of the fact that she had much less access (or none) to the quality of teachers, school environment and other resources available to whites because of her color.
Maya Angelou was raped by her mother’s boyfriend, dropped out of high school, was a teenage mom, and constantly dealt with racism. Who would have thought that someone who had gone through so much would someday be such a confident, inspirational woman? Maya Angelou’s confidence in herself and the African American race that she demonstrates in her poetry gives others courage to speak for themselves. Three poems by Angelou that display her confidence are “Still I Rise,” “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” and “Phenomenal Woman.” While each poem is written differently, they all express confidence and the idea of having the courage to stand up for oneself.
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” This quote from the famed Maya Angelou illustrated not only her personal views, but also the views that she put into her poetry. Angelou’s goal was not to make poetry that was appealing to everyone, her goal was to create art that would resonate with people on an emotional and spiritual level, her goal was to make them feel. Maya Angelou was considered to be a contemporary poet, meaning she used modern language and form in her writing, though she often wrote about issues that have affected people for centuries, and still continue to affect them today, i.e discrimination, oppression, self-identity, etc. These