Maya Angelou's Influences Essay

Maya Angelou was an inspiring activist, poet, and woman. Angelou was born in St. Louis, Missouri on April 4, 1928. Throughout her lifetime she explored her career options as an actress, dancer, singer, writer, and editor among many other careers. Angelou had a tough childhood. Her parents divorced when she was very young and she was sent to live with her grandmother in Arkansas along with her brother Bailey. As an African American, Angelou experienced discrimination and racial prejudices. Angelou gave birth to her son Guy, at the age of sixteen and married her first husband Tosh Angelos, at the age of twenty-four. Angelou and Tosh divorced years later however, she did get married a couple of more times. Angelou experienced many

Angelou’s writings are an important historical faction of American literature. Maya Angelou was a well-rounded, self-motivated woman who accomplished many things in her life. She not only accomplished things to benefit herself, but to better the life and people around her. Among some of the many things she did, being part of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s was one of the most

Maya has done things that people may not have known they may think that just because she is a best selling author that she went to a big collage ,but the truth is that Maya dropped out of high school and became the first black street car driver in San Francisco. She has traveled over the world to work many jobs, she also worked with Dr. martin Luther king. Maya lived when us "black people " where apart of the racial segregation in the world she tried to protect our rights as African Americans. Maya Angelou has been apart of great things but is known for her poetry. Writing, playwright and being a great guider. Maya is one of my great guiders with her

Who is she and why is she important? Maya Angelou was an articulate, imaginative, courteous, lively collection of chapters and stanzas all wrapped up in a powerful, intelligent, successful, beautiful woman. Angelou was a world renowned author, actress and teacher who inspired millions. She possessed the capabilities to connect to the heart with her voice and her life experiences. She traveled and aided people across the world through her books, speeches and poems. She was

Imagine having an unforgettable influence from someone you thought to be of high standards. Maya Angelou had this influence and expressed it vividly as she wrote Sister Flowers. The essay is passionate, yet conservative, and a carefully descripted narrative to say the least. While reading the essay there are many ideas anyone could relate and acquire knowledge to write their own essay or paper on, like myself. Even though Sister flowers is easy to read, you will find it to be intriguing and inspiring in many ways.

Maya Angelou has touched the lives of many men and women in her lifetime in some way, shape or form. She was a very inspiring figure for people to live by. Maya had no idea when she was a child that she would become the person that everyone looked up to, including me. As a child Maya Angelou was not aware that she would become a huge inspiration to several people in her adult life. She also inspires many people in my generation. Many of Angelou’s poems talk about her own, real life experiences.

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 is one of the most influential and talented African American writers of our modern day. Those who read Angelou‘s works should not pass the thought of where her influence came from. Maya Angelou’s work has been heavily affected by the era in which she began to write. The fifties and sixties were a tumultuous time for most African-Americans in the US. The civil-rights movement, led by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the National Urban League, Martin Luther King, Jr., and others, was instrumental in securing legislation, notably the Civil-Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

She worked hard and “…was said to have more determination than talent,” however, “[she]…wanted desperately to live in glamorous surroundings,” but her wisdom was her highlight, because “[she believed] it was important to be in the right place at the right time” (9). Maya Angelou began as a singer-dancer and entered the turbulent life of New York City. Angelou’s passion for reading and memorizing information helped her gain knowledge about diverse subjects. Her autobiography emphasizes her thought process and implementation of her experiences into her work, which assisted Angelou in becoming the Northern Coordinator for Martin Luther King’s history making adventure.

There are many times in life where you will need to change how you look at things because you do not agree at first. Maya Angelou was one of those people who believed this and she learned this from her greatest influences. Such as, her mother, grandmother, neighbor Mrs. Flowers, mother’s boyfriend and the civil rights. All of these individuals and events affected her in different ways by the levels of influence they had on her. Maya Angelou was brought into

Maya Angelou, the current poet laureate of the United States, has become for many people an exemplary role model. She read an original poem at the inauguration of President Clinton; she has also appeared on the television show "Touched by an Angel," and there read another poem of her own composition; she lectures widely, inspiring young people to aim high in life. Yet this is an unlikely beginning for a woman who, by the age of thirty, had been San Francisco's first black streetcar conductor; an unmarried mother; the madam of a San Diego brothel; a prostitute, a showgirl, and an actress (Lichtler, 861927397.html). Her book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings argues persuasively

Oppressed women have been unjustly held back from achieving full equality for much of human history. A woman no matter neither color nor education faces discrimination on a day to day basis. Barriers that are place in their way to advancing includes: lack of mentoring, lack of opportunities for career development, biased rating and testing system and counterproductive behavior and harassment by colleges (Schaefer, pg 15). In the past, women did not have jobs and were to clean, cook and care for the children, also did not have the right to vote. While the man work long hours to provide for his family and gave orders as the women followed. As time went on and rights were given to women, the men did not like the idea that controlled was being lost. They refused to let women become equal to males. Women are allow to work the same career as males, but will never be paid the same as males. This paper addresses Maya Angelou life and how her writing and public speaking inspired women to overcome discrimination.

Although she passed in late May of 2014, Maya Angelou’s poems will continue to live in the hearts of many. Ms. Angelou is considered to be one of America’s greatest poets because of her phenomenal work. One, however, really does not understand the depths of her writings until they research Angelou and discover the extraordinary woman she really was. Upon researching the life of Angelou, I learned that not only was she a writer but she was also a dancer, singer, actress, composer, activist, and a mother (Contemporary Authors Online).

Maya Angelou had a traumatic childhood filled with sad events that left an impact on her for her writing career to develop. She faced racism as a child being a young black girl living in San Francisco during the time of war and heavy racism she stuck our everywhere: “she wasn’t a white girl with long blonde hair. As she remembered that she was a girl with dark skin, a gap between her teeth, and kinky hair” (“Maya Angelou” 24). She was also being beat by her father’s girlfriend and ran away to live in a junkyard for a month with other misfits who struggled as well. At the age of seven and a half, she was raped and hospitalized by her mother’s boyfriend. He went to jail and when he got realized he was kicked to death by her uncles. Angelou felt the murder was her fault so she stopped talking for five years. During this time of not speaking she read every book in the

Maya Angelou’s life was full of miseries, racial discrimination and unhappiness but she still managed to fight through the struggles to become one of the best authors of her time.