Why Is Maya Angelou Important

Maya Angelou (April 4, 1928-May 28, 2014) was an American author, actress, screenwriter dancer and poet. She was known for her memoir, I know Why the Caged Bird Sings (bibography.com). “Her parents divorced when she was only three and she was sent with her brother Bailey to live with their grandmother in the small town of Stamps, Arkansas. In Stamps, the young girl experienced the racial discrimination that was the legally enforced way of life in the American

Maya Angelou’s poetry occupies a very special position in her development as a writer (Chow 1). As a child, Angelou went through five years of complete silence after she was raped at the age of seven years old, by a man named, Mr. Freeman. As a result of telling about her traumatic experience, her uncle’s literally kicked the man that raped her to death. Beings she spoke of her traumatic experience and the result of the man dying, she then imagined that her voice had the potential to kill. Thanks to her teacher, Bertha Flowers, at school Angelou started writing poetry as a means of expression of her life events through her poetry (Chow 1). Poetry thus played an essential part in the recovery of her voice, which in

Maya Angelou, named at birth, Marguerite Johnson was on April 4th, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. Her and her family moved from St. Louis to Stamps, Arkansas, where she was raised growing up. Maya Angelou was an American author, dancer, screenwriter, actress, poet and civil rights activist. Angelou gained a majority of her fame with the memoir she wrote in 1969, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. This memoir made literary history as being the first nonfiction best-seller by an African-American woman. Angelou received many awards and honors throughout her entire career. These awards included two NAACP Image Awards in the outstanding literary work (nonfiction) category, in 2005 and 2009. Angelou became one of the most legendary and influential

Maya Angelou was born April 4, 1928. Her real name is Marguerite Johnson, but she later changed it to Maya. She was born in St. Louis, shortly after her birth her family up and move to Arkansaw. Maya grew up there in the rural parts of Arkansaw, and later married to a South African Freedom Fighter. She lived in Cairo with him, there she began her career as editor of the Arab Observer.

Maya Angelou is a leading literary voice of the African-American community. She writes of the triumph of the human spirit over hardship and adversity. “Her style captures the ca-dences and aspirations of African American women whose strength she celebrates.” (Library of Chattanooga State, n. d.) Maya has paved the way for children who has had a damaged

Maya Angelou was very brave. One of the things that makes her brave is being able to talk about being sexually abused. At the young age of seven, Angelou was sexually abused by her mother’s boyfriend. This happened while she was briefly staying with her mother in St. Louis. For the rest of her life, she would have that memory in her brain, reminding her of such a traumatic experience. In 1970, Angelou had an autobiography that was on the New York Times’ bestseller

Maya Angelou, born Marguerite Johnson, the author of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” details her coming of age experience. Maya faces the ever rampant oppression in the deep south which impacted her dearly in her childhood. She lives in the lower class and wasn’t given many opportunities to succeed. In the duration of this paper I will explain how Maya Angelou was effected by racial differences and her socioeconomic position and how she used them to mold her.

In spite of facing early setbacks that the average person likely would not recover from, genius poet, autobiographer, and playwright Maya Angelou turned her travail into brilliance and activism. Born Marguerite Annie Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri, Angelou personified resilience despite being raped by her mother´s boyfriend. In a violent turn of events, Angelou went on to testify against of her assailant and, as a result, her uncles found, beat, and murdered him. Due to extreme guilt and the magnitude of these early tragedies, Angelou became a voluntary mute up until she was about 13 years old (Maya 1). Although her childhood was full of tribulations, Angelou persevered and went on to graduate high school at 16 years old with honors and study drama and dance in college.

Did you know Maya Angelou and I share the same birthplace? A large beautiful city with many attractions. Obviously, many years apart, we still shared the same interests. Angelou is well known for her award-winning poetry and collections. One commonly used all around the world today called “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings”. Many cherished her perky and strong behavior(“Maya Angelou” 2018). Our forty-fourth president Barack Obama announced after her death Angelou was a “Brilliant writer, a fierce friend, a truly phenomenal woman… Angelou had the ability to remind us that we are all God’s children; that we all have something to offer”. She clearly had friends in high places. (“Maya Angelou” 2018)

As author Maya, never shy away from her past but embrace it. She quoted one would expect to be lower class, She never been the one the shy away from her past but embrace it instead. [Angelou seeks to share her understanding with others, whatever their race, class, or gender. So, too, is her message that while all-human beings will face many trials, they must not give in to despair. Indeed, the indefatigability of the human spirit is what Angelou repeatedly celebrates with her call to replace ignorance with caring, an ethic that testifies to the redemptive powers of honesty, forgiveness, and love]. (Dashnau) Dr. Angelou work help the community see past the broken girl but a positive role model to American history. Through her work, she was able to communicate with the world that flaw does not mean damage. Maya has a legacy that will carry on for many years as like her “first white love” Maya work give an encouraging word to many overcoming obstacles in their life. Even with a tragic childhood, she was able to become an icon that never

Maya Angelou grew up in a small, segregated town in the deep South where she had to learn to deal with racial hatred. Angelou was originally born as Marguerite Johnson in Saint Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928. When Angelou was three and her older brother, Bailey, was four, her parents sent them off to live with their father’s mother in the rural town of Stamps, Arkansas. Angelou’s parents were never truly happy around one another. So, her father “decided to put an end to their calamitous marriage, and [he]shipped Maya and Bailey home to his mother” (Angelou 6) Angelou does not remember most of her trip, but once they reached the deep South, things started to look up. “Negro passengers, who always traveled with loaded lunch boxes, felt sorry for ‘the poor little motherless darlings’ and plied Maya and her brother with cold fried chicken and potato salad” (Angelou 6). Throughout all of her work, Angelou

Maya Angelou was an author, actress, screenwriter, dancer and poet. She was born on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. Growing up, she was known as Marguerite Annie Johnson and was later given the name Maya Angelou in her twenties. She had a difficult childhood due to her parents splitting when she was a very young age. Angelou and her brother were sent to Stamps, Arkansas, where they lived with their grandmother. Even as a child Angelou experienced racial discrimination and was even raped by her mother’s boyfriend at the age of eight. In seek of revenge, Angelou’s uncle killed the boyfriend, thus leaving Angelou traumatized and practically mute. Eventually, Angelou spoke again with help from Mrs. Bertha Flowers, a teacher and

Maya Angelou was a woman of many names. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1928. Her father, Bailey Johnson, was a doorman and a naval dietician. Her mother, Vivian Johnson, was a professional gambler, registered nurse, and owned a rooming house and bar. As a young girl she endured abuse and trauma that eventually led her to stop talking, for six years she believed that her voice had killed the man who had attacked her but through writing and performing, she found her voice. “I am Maya Angelou, whatever that means to whomever it means.”

Maya Angelou was a wonderful girl and woman. Her birth name was Marguerite Annie Johnson. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri on April 4, 1928. She was raised by her grandmother and mother. While she was with her grandmother, she lived in Stamps, Arkansas. While she was with her mother, she lived in St. Louis. Unfortunately, when she was seven, she was raped by her mother’s boyfriend. She didn’t speak for years and it scarred her for life. Eventually, Maya won a scholarship to San Francisco’s Labor School for dance and drama. She dropped out at

The year is 1940 and the setting is the desperately poor, racially segregated town of Stamps, Arkansas. In the soft dirt beneath the stilts of her grandmother’s general store, she does not want anyone to hear her as she attempts a few lines of poetry. Maya Angelou has not spoken for five years since being raped at the age of seven, but slowly, tentatively, she begins to make a sound.