Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
A brief biography on maya angelou
Maya angelou contributions to society
A brief biography on maya angelou
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
More handpicked essays just for you.
A brief biography on maya angelou
Maya angelou contributions to society
A brief biography on maya angelou
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: A brief biography on maya angelou
Annotated Bibliography: Maya Angelou Angelou, Maya. I know why the caged bird sings. New York: random house, 1970. Print. Maya Angelou's book describes in great detail the events of her forming years and her emotions throughout.
On April 4th of 1928 Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri. She was given the name “Maya” by her brother, Bailey. Both Maya and Bailey were sent to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas after her parents divorced. When Maya went to visit her mother at the age of eight she was raped by her mother’s boyfriend.
Other than that she was An author, poet , screenwriter, etc. With being African American, Maya had experience with first hand racial prejudices and discrimination in Arkansas, where
Firstly, there are many interesting facts about maya Angelou. She actually had many jobs including singer,dancer,actress, composer, etc. Maya Angelou had a hard early life. Her brother even gave her the name maya. Maya Angelou also got many awards in her life.
She has been recognized and honored by different organizations almost throughout her life. This is the birth of art which brought a new look on life by the talented performer, Dr. Maya Angelou.
Maya Angelou philosophy and teachings are timeless. There is a lesson to be learned in her more than 30 published works and her lessons taught as a professor and lecturer. More important she lived what she preached. She had a strong belief in humanity as a whole, in the human spirit and in the African American community. She fought tirelessly to change extinguish racism, prejudice and discrimination during a time when she herself as a black woman experienced its effects.
Maya Angelou was not always called by that name, she was originally named Marguerite Johnson. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri on April 4th, 1928. Mrs. Angelou was a poet, educator, actress, producer, historian, and a civil rights activist. Maya Angelou is significant in American history because she always fought for women’s rights, her songs always meant something, and people looked up to what she stood for.
Maya Angelou said, “I believe that every person was born with a talent”. Her exquisite poems are filled with literary devices such as extended metaphors, similes, rhyming words, and vivid imagery. The modern day poet, Maya Angelou is comparable to William Shakespeare, who is considered as one of the most inspiring poets in history, having written 37 plays and 154 sonnets (Holt Elements of Literature). Today, Shakespeare is renowned because of his accomplishment of creating or popularizing the iambic pentameter style of 10 syllables per line. His writing is recognized as being rich, eloquent, and varied.
And Still I Rise Maya Angelou was a writer, artistic performer and poet. She had been a respected African-American for her time, marked by recognition gained from the recital request from President-elect Bill Clinton. Maya Angelou was born in St. Louis Missouri under Marguerite Annie Johnson, and her brother Bailey had nicknamed her “Maya.” Angelou had faced multiple hardships during childhood, her parents worked numerous jobs and eventually divorced.
“Today, Michelle and I join millions around the world in remembering one of the brightest lights of our time – a brilliant writer, a fierce friend, and a truly phenomenal woman.” (Online - White House). This memorial statement, by Barack Obama in 2014, encompasses how many felt towards Maya Angelou, one of the most influential writers and voices of her generation. Over the course of her lifetime, Maya Angelou was awarded over 50 honorary degrees and received the highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Angelou’s personal admiration and self-love that is reflected in her poetic works, specifically, “Phenomenal Woman,” is credited to the overcoming of her traumatic childhood and her work in activism.
Maya Angelou has been an influential woman throughout her life; she left her mark in history and literature, and she celebrated the experience of being black in the US. The most breathtaking of all her achievements is the construction of her own personality. As she stated once, “my mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style”. Remembering her, it is important to highlight her commitment with equality; it was a fight not only for her own life, for women and for Afro-American people, but also for peace and justice all over the world.
When thinking of a historical figure, many imagine a president, king, or general that lead a country to greatness, but never realized some could be the ones who influence the minds of society. Although not thought of as anything, writers and poets hold the key to shaping the society’s mindset without even knowing it. Being a civil rights activist, social activist, and role model for women makes Maya Angelou a historical figure who has made a huge impact in American society and in American history. Born poor and black, she was a childhood victim of rape, shamed into silence. She was a young single mother who had to work at strip clubs for a living.
Maya Angelou was a strong African-American women who made an influential impact on the Civil Rights Movement, in bother her actions, and her literature. Her life experiences and courage helped others, and made her work influential. During Maya’s early life, she experienced many hardships that shaped her into the person many remember her as. Born on April 4, 1928, she only lived in St. Louis, MO for three years before her parents got divorced, and Maya, along with her mother and brother, moved in with her grandparents in Arkansas. At the age of eight, raped by her mother’s boyfriend, Maya learned the power that words possess.
Angelou ``.despite her lack of a college education, became a professor of American studies at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. “ The point is that Angelou did a lot of things in life and despite her lack of education still managed to get the chance to teach others American studies. Why this is an important quote in the essay is because she did what she wanted to do even though she did not have the best education to do it . Maya Angelou did not give up on doing it. She wanted to give others what she had learned.
She was a multi-talented person as Toni Morrison, a friend and contemporary of Angelou, expressed: “She had 19 talents and used 10. And she was a real original.” (qtd, in Sherwell, 2014).