Actress. Artist. Civil rights activist. Feminist. Poet. Maya Angelou was one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. She discussed topics that most people never would have, with open arms. She truly was a woman of many talents and her work will last throughout the ages. Maya Angelou. A true renaissance woman who will be remembered… if we make her works part of the American school curriculum. Maya Angelou was born in a time when blacks and white were not allowed to comingle and if they did so it could mean dire consequences. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri on April 4, 1928 originally given the name of Marguerite Annie Johnson. After parents divorce she lived with her paternal grandmother, her cousin and her crippled uncle. At the age …show more content…
Her life was not an easy one but she overcame adversity and created some of the most beautiful pieces of literature, as well as poetry, of the 20th century. Her works prove that you may come from a horrible background but you are able to become someone worth something in the eyes of society. Maya Angelou wanted equality for all and therefor fought alongside Martin Luther King Jr. in the Civil Right Movement of the 60’s. Mr. King dies on her birthday and she was devastated… in an interview she stated that his sense of fairplay as well as his eye for what justice should have been is something he instilled in her.
The style in what she wrote was soft and powerful. When she spoke you couldn’t help but listen. Main works done by her include several books of poetry, essays, autobiographies but she was also a talented playwright. One of her most well known poems, Phenomenal Woman, tells of how she may not be one definition of beauty but it is the air around her that is what makes her beautiful. It tells of how she is proud of who she is and she is not afraid to be a