Essay On Maya Angelou

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Brianna Robinson
Professor Susan Beam
English 200
May 8, 2014

She Rose
Maya Angelou is an award winning American author and poet. Her writing was first published in the 1960’s, a time a racial tension and cry for civil rights. Also, at this time many women did not work outside of the home. However, Angelou’s work revealed the lives of black women who often were sole breadwinners in their households. Much of Maya Angelou’s work was that of autobiography. Many of her poems and books were influenced by her life and addressed the issues of racism, incest, family and identity that many Americans could relate to .
Born 1928, in St. Louis, Mo, Marguerite Johnson’s childhood was not an easy one. Her parents divorced when she young and her paternal grandmother cared for her for several years in Stamps, Arkansas (Funk & Wagnalis).At the age of 8, Angelou was raped by her mother’s boyfriend. The man was found guilty but released only after serving a day in prison. He was subsequently killed by her uncles( Funk & Wagnalis ).After this incident, Maya Angelou remained silent for several years...

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