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Maya Angelou

by Emily from Eden Prairie

"I write because I am a Black woman, listening attentively to her people". -Maya Angelou, 1984
Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou is a woman that has been inspiring for many people. Once she was even called “America’s most visible black female autobiographer”. She has had much success in her life and will continue to. Has she had any bumps in her road? Almost any African American would and Maya certainly did. Through tough times she might have been down but she persevered to make it right and she wrote a few books on her life. Ms. Angelou didn’t just write books, she did other things too and those things contributed to her success. Her life was an interesting one and hopefully someone can learn a thing or two from it and be as honorable as she is.

Young Maya Angelou (Google)
Young Maya Angelou (Google)

Maya Angelou had a tough childhood. She was born on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. She had it tough because when Maya was just eight years old, she was sexually abused by her mother’s boyfriend. After that, she remained silent for almost five years and she was sent back to live with her grandmother, her brother accompanying her. Maya has had many careers in her life. A poet, civil rights activist, film producer, author, and professor are just a few of them to name. She was also a dancer and was in Calypso dance performances. She toured Europe with a production of the opera Porgy and Bess. Later, she moved to New York City to focus on her writing career and in 1968 she wrote her first biography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.


Maya has been given awards and honors for many things. She is one of the most honored writers of her generation. Maya has been nominated for a National Book Award, a Pulitzer Prize, and non-literary related, a Tony. She has also been given three Grammys and has been awarded the National Medal of Arts. A couple of things that got her these awards and honors were for influences and also racism. One of her influences was that not many black females were writing an autobiography of them or having themselves as central characters. Maya wanted to change this and be able to write about herself and about some exciting or dramatic things in her life. She was one of the only African Americans that was able to speak openly about her personal life of her time. As for racism, a friend and mentor of Angelou said that Maya “explains and illuminates” the condition of African Americans in the US, but without separating her readers. She also promotes that hard work is very important throughout all her autobiographies, in order to forget the African American stereotype of laziness. Through the influences of these things and most likely many more she has written incredible books and proves that a bad thing can make a good thing happen too.

Reciting
Reciting

There were many great books and poems in the collection that Maya has produced. As said before, Maya’s first autobiography was called I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. This book is about the early years of Maya. It shows how strength of character can help overcome racism and trauma that Angelou has experienced before. It begins on how she and her brother were sent to live at her grandmother’s when Maya was only 3 years old and the book ends when Maya becomes a mother at age 17. The themes throughout this book are Identity, Racism, and Literacy. Though it is an autobiography her work is often characterized as autobiographical fiction. There are 5 additional books after this main one. Of her poetic work, Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. A poem called “On the Pulse of Morning” was chosen by President Bill Clinton to be recited by Maya during his inauguration in 1993. As you can see Maya has had many successful works of art and probably has a lot more than what is shown.

Maya Angelou is important and has changed my life by opening up other books for readers, such as myself, to read. Other authors such as herself, a female African American, have been heavily influenced to write books in the genre she has. She has made others believe that even though her skin color is different she can write just as good, maybe better than those before her. Her books are so widely known that they are often used as set texts in schools and colleges internationally. Maya Angelou was a hero in many ways and should be remembered so forth. She should be known as a poet, a civil rights activist, and also an author. Her speeches have also inspired many people and someday I hope you will be able to read or listen to one so you can be impacted for the rest of your life.

Page created on 3/12/2011 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 3/12/2011 12:00:00 AM

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