“A Phenomenal Woman”: Maya Angelou
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.”
Angelou wrote in several categories of writing and performing as a poet, author, scriptwriter, actress, and composer. Angelou had a voice that demanded to be heard. a voice to all that had been quieted and\or overlooked. Her work brought her acclaim and awards from all over the place. She even read at Bill Clinton’s very first inauguration and was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama. Over the years
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First she married Tosh Angelos in 1950 only to be divorced two years later, then married Paul Du Feu in 1973 but soon divorced in 1981. She only had one child in 1945, writer, Guy Johnson. Angelou died May 28, 2014 at eighty-six years old in her North Carolina home. The legacy of this powerful woman is lived on by Her son, Guy, and many friends and admirers. In my opinion, “Phenomenal Woman” is one of her greatest contributions to the literary world. It shows that you don’t have to be a certain ‘type’ of woman to be amazing. Angelou manages to convey this message by pinpointing the things that she found made her unique and desirable. She found out just how phenomenal she was years after she had thought of herself as ugly and incapable of being loved. Her life was not aways glamorous and phenomenal, and seeing the way she was able to work through it and realize how amazing she is an amazing thing we don’t see very
Maya Angelou is terrific performer, singer, filmmaker, and civil-rights activist. She is a phenomenal woman, one thing that she does best is writing. She is still living today, I believe her legend will never die. If one would talk to her, he or she would think she has lead a normal, happy life. Her life is blissful now, it was not always perfect. Maya beard enough emotional stress in a time frame that most people do not experience in a lifetime. Her experiences and the lessons learned encouraged her to help others become strong. Maya Angelou is one of the best examples of someone overcoming rape, being mute for several years, and having a child at a young age to achieve success of becoming an accomplished
This is some of her accomplishments, best known for her autobiographical fiction, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", that book is her most famous one, she teaches American Studies at Wake Forest University. These are interesting facts about Maya Angelou, her given name is Marguerite Johnson, her husband's family name is Angelos but she changed to S to a U, she
Maya Angelou is an amazing American author, poet, entertainer, actress, playwright, producer and director, historian and civil rights activist. She is best known for her portrayals of strong African American women.
The words Multi-talented barely describes Maya Angelou's lifelong accomplishments and notoriety. She was a woman born during the difficult times of prohibition and abandoned at a very young age and faced the most painful of challenges during her youth. From transferring for place to place without her biological parent(s), unfit living environments, physical and mental abuse/ trauma, to simply just wanting to find a place to belong. These were the trials of Maya Angelou, in her youth, she moved more than four times across the country. The second time involved her father taking her and her kid brother back to California, but instead of taking them all the way he decides to drop them off to live with their mother in St. Louis where gambling and
From her early life as a mute, to her poems, to speaking at the presidential inauguration of Bill Clinton, and even to her time as a teacher, Maya Angelou and her contributions and writing pieces, have taught many, and changed the world immensely. Maya Angelou had a very difficult childhood. When she was 3 years old, Angelou’s parents divorced. Neither Angelou’s father nor mother could take care of her. Angelou and her brother Bailey were sent to live with her grandmother whom they called Momma, in Stamps, Arizona.
Maya Angelou has inspired me in more ways than one, and I had to write about her. When Maya speaks people listen. She has this wisdom that only few have, especially when life wasn’t always great. She turned tragedy into triumph, and helped others in doing so. So, Maya has proven too many women, especially black women that you succeed, even if you have had a child in your teen years. She’s proof that with determination nothing is unattainable.
Angelou received several honors throughout her career. Angelou worked on hard on writing this book, and the book sends a great message to the community, she was talented at showing the feelings of other. In her autobiography she tells how dedicated she was in this book but it also tells her story and she has struggled to express the pain that happened to her as a child. The autobiography also tells about her trauma and has a unique way of putting it out there.
Maya Angelou was a humble woman, whose poetry and memoirs were for the benefit of others. However, her work made a sure mark in history through numerous awards such as NAACP Image Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, and Grammy, and a Tony Award (Biography.com Editors). Angelou deserved every award and honor she received for her work in literary and performing arts. Achievements of this degree may have seemed out of reach for young African Americans, or any minority, until Maya Angelou paved the way. Raised as a Christian, sharing talents and advice was natural for Angelou.
Maya Angelou had a troubled childhood, when her parents separated at the age of 3, she and her brother went and lived with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas, this is where she first experienced racial discrimination. At the age of 7, she was raped by her mother’s boyfriend. When her uncle found out, he killed Angelou’s rapist, traumatized she stopped speaking for 5 years. During WWII, she won a scholarship to study dance and acting at the California Labour School. By 1944, she gave birth to her son, Guy, at 16 years old, who she supported by herself. In 1952, she married a Greek
When Angelou was 8 and briefly living with her mom in St. Louis, her mom’s boyfriend raped Maya. The man was arrested, convicted and released. Soon after, he was found beaten to death. Thinking she had caused the killing because she had told of the rape, Angelou refused to speak for several years; only her beloved older brother, Bailey, could get her to talk again. After the traumatizing events that Maya Angelo experienced she soon spoke again not by speaking but writing and helping others to overcome their
Maya Angelou is one of the most distinguished African American writers of the twentieth century. Writing is not her only forte she is a poet, director, composer, lyricist, dancer, singer, journalist, teacher, and lecturer (Angelou and Tate, 3). Angelou’s American Dream is articulated throughout her five part autobiographical novels; I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Gather Together in my Name, Singin’ and Swingin’ and Getting’ Merry Like Christmas, The Heart of a Woman, and All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes. Maya Angelou’s American Dream changed throughout her life: in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Maya’s American dream was to fit into a predominantly white society in small town
Maya Angelou is a phenomenal woman. She rises through all things that come her way and she refuses to back down. Angelou chose at a very young age to be a writer and a role model for many people. She believes that everyone should be treated equally and that the world should come together as a unity. Angelou had many careers but is known mostly for her poetic creations. She has come a long way from where she started and I think anyone can agree with me when I say, she has made us all proud with her accomplishments. Angelou writes poetry to inform and encourage others to carry on through the worst of times. She is a strong, confident, inspirational woman and I am more than honored to be doing my senior paper on her.
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 was inspirational and helpful to others. She has helped people to look at themselves and other people in different, better ways. Angelou also had a joyful and loving personality. She was very engaged in everything that she did (Hoffert). Along with her outstanding personality and inspiration to others, Angelou was helpful. She helped people from many nations and bridged divides between races. This was such an admirable trait that a residence hall at Wake Forest University was named after Angelou (Kennedy). It has been said by Toni Morrison that she was there when you need it the most. Morrison has a firsthand experience with this because Angelou was the first person not in the family to call when Morrison’s son died (Hoffert).
Unlike Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou devoted her life to inspiring African Americans to do whatever they wanted to do no matter what other people said. She also wanted to inspire people. Her poems Phenomenal Woman and Still I Rise inspired not only the African American people, which is was intended to, but the whole world including men. Like Hughes, Maya Angelou did not think that one day she would be reading one of her poems at President Clinton 's inauguration. But she did think that she would inspire young African American writers that they too could become wonderful writers in a white society. Angelou is hailed as one of the great voices of contemporary black literature and as a remarkable Renaissance woman.