Free Essays on Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou was born on April 4, 1928 as Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis. She grew up in segregated rural Arkansas. She is a poet, historian, author, actress, playwright, civil rights activist, producer and director. She lectures throughout the U.S. and abroad and is Reynolds professor of American studies at Wake Forest University in North Carolina since 1981. She has written ten best selling books and numerous magazine articles earning her Pulitzer prize and national book award nominations. Maya, wrote and delivered a poem at President Clinton’s 1993 Presidential Inauguration. Dr. Angelou who speaks french and three other languages began her career in drama and dances. Maya got married to a south African freedom fighter and lived in Cairo where she was the editor of the Arab observer, the only English language news weekly in the Middle East. In the 1960's at the request of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Maya Angelou became Northern Coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Maya, was appointed by President Gerald Ford to the bicentennial commission and by President Jimmy Carter to the national commission on the observance of International women’s year. She held the great hall audience spellbound with stories of her own childhood. She ranged from story, to poem, to song and back again. â€Å"The honorary duty of a human being is to love† Angelou said. She spoke of her early love for William Shakespeare’s work’s, and offered her audience excerpts from the poems of several African Americans, including James Weldon Johnson and Paul Lawrence Dunbar. But she came back to love and humanity. In the sixties she became the northern coordinator for the southern christian leadership conference and in 1975 she received the ladies home journal woman of the year award in communications. Maya is on the board of the American film institute and is one o f the few female members of the director’s guild. She has written ... Free Essays on Maya Angelou Free Essays on Maya Angelou Maya Angelou is a writer, poet, performer, and a director. Before anything else, she is woman; a black woman. She was born Marguerite Johnson, on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. After her parents’ marriage broke up, Angelou and her older brother, who gave her the nickname â€Å"Maya,† moved to the rural town of Stamps, Arkansas to live with their paternal grandmother. In the mid-1930s, after the two children had returned to St. Louis to live with their mother, her mother’s boyfriend raped Maya, who was only seven. A few days after she was forced to testify at his trial, her rapist was found beaten to death in an alley, apparently murdered by some of Angelou’s uncles. Traumatized by the whole experience, Angelou stopped speaking altogether, and she and her brother, Bailey, moved back to Arkansas. Through her study of writing, literature, and music, Angelou gained the will to speak again. Maya had found the voice that would be heard by everyone in years to come. By the age of 12, she became known in the town of Stamps for her precocious intelligence. While attending high school, she won a scholarship in dance and drama to the California Labor School. In addition to her studies, Angelou worked to earn extra money, becoming San Francisco’s first African-American and first female streetcar conductor. Just after she graduated from high school in 1945, her son, Clyde â€Å"Guy† Johnson, was born. She held a succession of jobs in San Francisco and San Diego- where she worked as a nightclub waitress and as a madam for two prostitutes- and was turned down for enlistment in the United States Army after her background check revealed that the California Labor School was in fact suspected by the House Un-American Activities Committee as a training ground for future Communi sts. In the early 1950s, Angelou was married for three years to a Greek-born former sailor, Tosh Angelos; she took a variation of his name as her stage name f... Free Essays on Maya Angelou Maya Angelou is a very triumphant woman. She has written many books and poems that have given her great success. If one would talk to her, he or she would think she has lead a normal, happy life. Her life is blissful now, but it wasn’t always perfect. Maya Angelou’s sorrowful life experiences inspired her to write autobiographical works of poetry.Maya Angelou was born April 4, 1928 as Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis. She was raised in segregated rural Arkansas. She came from a broken home. Angelou was raped at eight, and was an unwed mother at 16 years old (Williams 1). In spite of her tragic childhood, she still managed to become one of the greatest black poets of the twentieth century (Williams 1).Angelou is a poet, an author, a historian, an actress, a playwright, a civil-rights activist, a producer, and a director. Ms. Angelou began her career in drama and dance, and she married a South African freedom fighter and lived in Cairo. Later she also taught in Ghan a. In the 1960's she said that being black, female, non-Muslim, non-Arab, six foot tall, and American made for some interesting experiences during her stay in Africa (Williams 1). Ms. Angelou accomplished many things in her life. She was the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference at the request of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She was also appointed to the Bicentennial Commission by President Gerald Ford, the National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year by Jimmy Carter, and in 1993 she wrote and delivered the presidential inauguration for President Bill Clinton. Maya Angelou is a decorated author. She has been nominated for two Emmy awards and has won a Pulitzer Prize. She is also a highly cultured person. She can speak English, French, Spanish, Italian, and West African Fanti. And many of her poems can inspire people today. Knowing something about Angelou’s life ... Free Essays on Maya Angelou Maya Angelou was born on April 4, 1928 as Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis. She grew up in segregated rural Arkansas. She is a poet, historian, author, actress, playwright, civil rights activist, producer and director. She lectures throughout the U.S. and abroad and is Reynolds professor of American studies at Wake Forest University in North Carolina since 1981. She has written ten best selling books and numerous magazine articles earning her Pulitzer prize and national book award nominations. Maya, wrote and delivered a poem at President Clinton’s 1993 Presidential Inauguration. Dr. Angelou who speaks french and three other languages began her career in drama and dances. Maya got married to a south African freedom fighter and lived in Cairo where she was the editor of the Arab observer, the only English language news weekly in the Middle East. In the 1960's at the request of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Maya Angelou became Northern Coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Maya, was appointed by President Gerald Ford to the bicentennial commission and by President Jimmy Carter to the national commission on the observance of International women’s year. She held the great hall audience spellbound with stories of her own childhood. She ranged from story, to poem, to song and back again. â€Å"The honorary duty of a human being is to love† Angelou said. She spoke of her early love for William Shakespeare’s work’s, and offered her audience excerpts from the poems of several African Americans, including James Weldon Johnson and Paul Lawrence Dunbar. But she came back to love and humanity. In the sixties she became the northern coordinator for the southern christian leadership conference and in 1975 she received the ladies home journal woman of the year award in communications. Maya is on the board of the American film institute and is one o f the few female members of the director’s guild. She has written ... Free Essays on Maya Angelou As a young woman Maya Angelou’s caged life affects many people through her reflected poetry. Her writing is a way of venting and is therapy for her now relieved soul. Her inspirations and achievements are the least two among other principles of African American memoirs. She is widely known for her teachings and poetry. Her poetry is based upon two main things mostly with social issues of African Americans, and her reflects on her own personal feelings of life. No matter what race her work is spread throughout this continent and touches the lives of many people. Maya Angelou was born in 1928 as Marguerite Johnson. She grow up with her brother in St. Louis, Missouri with her brother. Marguerite later changes her name to Maya Angelou. She was then sent to Arkansas when her parents divorced to live with her aunt and uncle. She was raped and later had a child at a very young age. Her broad feet, nappy black hair and space between her teeth. She soon grew to hate who she was. However she developed a inner strength and dignity(Neubaur2/145). There are many incidents in Maya Angelou’s life that influenced the theme of her work; Angelou’s lack of self-esteem as youth was not simply the result of the usual childhood awkwardness. Racism was a daily presence for Angelou and her family. One major theme of hers being degrading. The poems â€Å"No, No, No, No†and â€Å"The Word Negro† both have a degrading fault in it, how the speaker went through the fear, heartbroken and harsh life of an African American. A positive assertion of what and who black people have decided they will be is Maya Angelou. Her second major theme in her poetry is loneliness. The poems â€Å"Alone† and â€Å"Willie† both speak about the negative effects of loneliness. In Maya Angelou’s poem â€Å"No, No, No, No† she writes about the hardships and abuse of African American women. No the two legg’d beasts that walk like men Play stin... Free Essays on Maya Angelou Dr. Maya Angelou is a remarkable Renaissance woman who is hailed as one of the great voices of contemporary literature. As a poet, educator, historian, best-selling author, actress, playwright, civil-rights activist, producer and director, she continues to travel the world, spreading her legendary wisdom. Within the rhythm of her poetry and elegance of her writing style lies Angelou's unique power to help readers of every orientation cover the lines of race and Angelou captivates audiences through the force and absolute beauty of her words and lyrics. Maya Angelou, was on born April 4, 1928 as Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis. She was raised in segregated rural Arkansas. She lectures throughout the US and abroad and is Reynolds professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in North Carolina since 1981. She has published ten best selling books and numerous magazine articles earning her Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award nominations. At the request of President Clinton, she wrote and delivered a poem at his 1993 presidential inauguration. Dr. Angelou, who speaks French, Spanish, Italian and West African Fanti, began her career in drama and dance. She married a South African freedom fighter and lived in Cairo where she was editor of The Arab Observer, the only English-language news weekly in the Middle East. In Ghana, she was feature editor of The African Review and taught at the University of Ghana. In the 1960's, at the request of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ms. Angelou became the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. She was appointed by President Gerald Ford to the Bicentennial Commission and by President Jimmy Carter to the National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year. Maya Angelou, was among the first African-American women to hit the bestsellers lists with her "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," held the Great Hall audience fascinated with stories of her own c... Free Essays on Maya Angelou As a young woman Maya Angelou’s caged life affects many people through her reflected poetry. Her writing is a way of venting and is therapy for her now relieved soul. Her inspirations and achievements are the least two among other principles of African American memoirs. She is widely known for her teachings and poetry. Her poetry is based upon two main things mostly with social issues of African Americans, and her reflects on her own personal feelings of life. No matter what race her work is spread throughout this continent and touches the lives of many people. Maya Angelou was born in 1928 as Marguerite Johnson. She grow up with her brother in St. Louis, Missouri with her brother. Marguerite later changes her name to Maya Angelou. She was then sent to Arkansas when her parents divorced to live with her aunt and uncle. She was raped and later had a child at a very young age. Her broad feet, nappy black hair and space between her teeth. She soon grew to hate who she was. However she developed a inner strength and dignity(Neubaur2/145). There are many incidents in Maya Angelou’s life that influenced the theme of her work; Angelou’s lack of self-esteem as youth was not simply the result of the usual childhood awkwardness. Racism was a daily presence for Angelou and her family. One major theme of hers being degrading. The poems â€Å"No, No, No, No†and â€Å"The Word Negro† both have a degrading fault in it, how the speaker went through the fear, heartbroken and harsh life of an African American. A positive assertion of what and who black people have decided they will be is Maya Angelou. Her second major theme in her poetry is loneliness. The poems â€Å"Alone† and â€Å"Willie† both speak about the negative effects of loneliness. In Maya Angelou’s poem â€Å"No, No, No, No† she writes about the hardships and abuse of African American women. No the two legg’d beasts that walk like men Play stin...