Maya Angelou Research Paper

Marguerite Ann Johnson was born April 4, 1928 in St. Louis Missouri, at the age of three her parents divorce and Marguerite and her brother Bailey were sent to live with their grandmother in Stamps Arkansas. During her time leaving in Stamps Marguerite and her brother were exposed to racial discrimination but also were raised with in a very religious African American home. Marguerite and Bailey were very close, Bailey actually gave marguerite her nickname ‘Maya.” Bailey first started by calling his sister “My” as in my sister because he used to stutter. Overtime Bailey read a book on the Maya Indians and started to call his sister Maya and that has been here nickname since

(Maya Angelou Biography -- Academy of Achievement.com).

At the age

Maya’s marriage to Anastasios didn’t last long, but as a nightclub singer she did travel Europe. In time May moved to New York and joined the Harlem Writers Guild and was surrounded by a large number of African American writers who were involved in the Civil rights movement Angelou then fell in love with South African civil rights activist Vusumzi Make and then in 1960 the couple moved with Angelou's son to Cairo Egypt. While living in Cairo Maya worked as an editor of The Arab Observer, A few years later Maya and her son moved to Ghana and where she joined a group an African American expatriates (Maya Angelou Biography -- Academy of Achievement.com).

In 1964 Angelou moved back to the United States, she planned on working with Malcolm X to create an organization of African American Unity. But before this could happen Malcolm X was assassinated before it could happen. Maya also worked closely with Dr. King, after his assassination Maya was devastated. To deal with the loss she turned to writing, she wrote her memoir I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings that was published in 1970 (Maya Angelou Biography -- Academy of

The poems seems to be saying a free man in this case a white man is free to go and do as he pleases while the caged bird “The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom..”(Stanza 3) this stanza seems to be about an African American slave that yearns for freedom and doesn’t exactly know what it will be like to be free but still wants to his freedom. Angelou was very a big part of the civil rights movement, also was big on African culture and wrote about equality for all. Her poems usually are bout African Americans and equality or the lack of like in this poem, but some of her poems are on the lighter side for example the poem In and Out of Time.

The poem was written for the movie Medea’s Family Reunion, The poem is about a man telling his significant other how he feels about them through good times and bad and that they will always love each other forever. “The sun has come. The mist has gone.”(Lines 1-2) the sun coming and going means that through good times and bad they will always be there for each other. Angelou was saying that no matter where you are as long as you’re with the person you love you could accomplish and over come anything as long as you are