Caged Bird Sings By Maya Angelou And Lucille Clifton

Gender across the whole globe is defined by what reproductive parts we are born with, but what really defines a woman? There is more than what parts we have or what our chests look like. There is more to a woman that many do not know, not even some women themselves. Maya Angelou and Lucille Clifton are nationally recognized authors and poets that advocate women’s rights, independence and beauty. Their work gives insight on what really defines a woman and as many have criticized their works they learn and agree with the messages behind it. Their work helps and teaches not only women but anyone who chooses to read how to embrace who you are inside and out. This essay will explore what defines a woman and what it takes to be a woman through the

Louis, Missouri. She was a writer and a Civil Rights Activist and is most known for her 1969 memoir, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” This memoir made literary history as the first nonfiction best-seller by an African-American woman. In 1971, Angelou published the Pulitzer Prize nominated poetry collection. She was an author, actress, singer, screenwriter, dancer and poet. She was born Marguerite Annie Johnson. Angelou had a difficult childhood growing up in St. Louis, Missouri for some time, until her parents divorced. They divorced when she was only three and she was sent with her brother Bailey to live with their grandmother in the small town of Stamps, Arkansas. She talks about this situation briefly in her book The Heart of a Woman in the first chapter where she says, “When I was three my parents divorced in Long Beach, California and sent me and my four year old brother, unescorted, to our paternal grandmother.” (34). Angelou received several honors throughout her career, including two NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) Image Awards in the outstanding literary work, in the nonfiction category in 2005 and 2009. She passed away on May 28, 2014 at the age of

While in New York she joined the society of black artists and writers, she read her work at the Harlem Writers Guild, and began to take part in the struggle of black Americans for their rightful place in the world. Her compassion and commitment led her to respond to the tough and bad times by becoming the northern coordinator of Martin Luther King's history making quest. A passionate, earthly woman, she promised her heart to one man only to have it stolen, practically on her wedding day, by a passionate African freedom fighter. The Heart of a Woman shows the joys and the burdens of a black mother in America during the late 1950’s and 1960’s. This story is filled with unforgettable accounts of famous characters, from Billie Holiday to Malcolm X. The Heart of a Woman encompasses all with Maya Angelou's powerful writing style, her warmest dreams, deepest disappointments, and her fond relationship with her rebellious teenage son. Vulnerable, humorous, tough, Angelou speaks with an intimate awareness of the heart within not only a colored woman but the heart within all of