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Critical review of maya angelou
Critical review of maya angelou
Critical review of maya angelou
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“Maya Angelou is the most renowned and influential voices of our time” (poemhunter.com). She is also a multi Grammy-award winning author(mayaangelou.com). Angelou who wrote the poem, “On the Pulse of the Morning” for Bill Clinton’s Inauguration(mayaangelou.com). As a voice for equality, Maya Angelou has dealt with discrimination head on as evident in her writing.
Maya Angelou is a voice for the Civil Rights Movement and is known as “America’s most visible black female autobiographer”(poemhunter.com). Born in St. Louis, Missouri on April 4th, 1928, Angelou is still alive and writing today (mayaangelou.com). Angelou is a civil right activist, because Angelou fought through the persecution of racism, the testing of faith, the effects of rape as a child, as well as homelessness and drug addiction(mayaangelou.com). Angelou has contributed to society through her poems, books, and plays about freedom for all as well as progression for women(poemhunter.com). Maya Angelou is a courageous and brilliant individual. Angelou has stood up for her beliefs no matter what the cost. Angelou's writing has meant a great deal to others, especially in the poem “Still I Rise” and also “Alone”(poemhunter.com). Inspite of her horrible abuse and persecution, Angelou was able to have a successful and memorable adulthood(mayaangelou.com). Maya Angelou is and has been an inspiration to people all over the world with her many achievements and beautiful poetry(mayaangelou.com).
Angelou’s writings give voice to those who have faced discrimination in their lifetime. Having a personal experience with discrimination also has affected her writings. She has the introspective poems that change people’s thoughts about her and her poems. Angelou was greatly in...
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...once said, ”I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”(quotestree.com). Even though she has affected many lives with her work, Angelou has been given a gift of writings and talent that she shares with others.
Works Cited
"Maya Angelou - Biography." Maya Angelou - Biography. Maya Angelou, n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2014.
"Maya Angelou." : The Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2014.
"Maya Angelou Quotes." The Quotes Tree. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
"Maya Angelou Quotes." The Quotes Tree. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
Poet: Maya Angelou - All Poems of Maya Angelou. "Poet: Maya Angelou - All Poems of Maya Angelou." Poemhunter.com. Poem Hunter, n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2014.
"Public Statements Made by Maya Angelou." Hyperink. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
Maya Angelou was raised in segregated rural Arkansas. She is a poet, historian, author, actress, playwright, civil-rights activist, producer and director. She lectures throughout the United States and abroad and is Reynolds professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in North Carolina since 1981. She has published ten best selling books and numerous magazine articles earning her Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award nominations. At the request of President Clinton, she wrote and delivered a poem at his 1993 Presidential Inauguration. She also wrote and delivered a poem in 1995 titled 'A Brave and Startling Truth' in honor of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations.
Maya Angelou is one of the most respected African-American women figures. Maya is a poet, actress, civil rights activist, dancer, singer, writer, educator, and director. Maya’s real name is Marguerite Johnson. Maya was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928. Maya’s parents divorced when she was three.
"Angelou, Maya (née Marguerite Annie Johnson)." Encyclopedia of African-american Writing. Amenia: Grey House Publishing, 2009. Credo Reference. Web. 12 March 2014.
Maya Angelou is not just known for being a poet, novelist, educator, producer, actor, musician, and civil right activist, but also as one of the most renowned and influential voices. Maya Angelou was born as Marguerite Johnson on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, and raised in Stamps, Arkansas. As a child, she had a passion for art. She attended public school in Arkansas and California, and won a scholarship to study dance and drama at San Francisco’s Labor school. At the age of fourteen, Dr. Angelou dropped out of school and became the first female cable conductor. Dr. Angelou later went back and finished high school. A few weeks after she graduated from high school, she gave birth to her son Guy. Even though being a single mother and working different jobs would challenge her, her passion for music, dance, and poetry grew (Bloom).
Maya Angelou lived through a time where she was discriminated against for not only her race but also her gender. In her poem “Still I Rise” Angelou sarcastically talks about how no matter what is thrown at her she will rise above it and she will do it with resilience and confidence. Her poem discusses racism and sexism and gives minorities and women a sense of hope to overcome and endure both of those things. Angelou’s self-assurance in the poem makes you believe that you too can overcome whatever obstacle. Although this poem was intended for blacks, and women, and specifically black women, the poem helps build up strong and courageous people no matter what race or gender you are. Maya Angelou in “Still I Rise” uses both pathos and ethos to
She read her poem “On the Pulse of the Morning: The Inaugural Poem” (1992) at the inauguration of President Bill Clinton.Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now (1993) tells of her journey from obscurity to fame as a performer and civil rights activist. . . In addition, she has directed films and plays, composed music, and served as writer-in-residence and lecturer at several universities. She has had a variety of occupations in what she describes as "a roller-coaster life". In her twenties she toured Europe and Africa in the musical Porgy and Bess. In New York she joined the Harlem Writers Guild and continued to earn her living singing in night-clubs (as Maya Angelou - Maya from a childhood nickname, and Angelou from her Greek husband's surname) and performing in Jean Genet's The Blacks. Her multi-volume autobiography, In 1993 she published a collection of personal reflections, Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now, and in the same year she read her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at President Clinton's inauguration. She has continued to write stories A Song Flung up to Heaven (2002). She was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2000 and the Lincoln Medal in 2008. Her Letter to My Daughter, which is part memoir and part guide to life, was published in 2008.(Marguerite
Born on April 4th, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, Dr. Angelou was raised in St. Louis and Stamps, Arkansas. In Stamps, Dr. Angelou experienced the brutality of racial discrimination, but she also absorbed the unshakable faith and values of traditional African-American family, community, and culture. Dr. Maya Angelou is one of the most renowned and influential voices of our time. Hailed as a global renaissance woman, Dr. Angelou is a celebrated poet, memoirist, novelist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist.
Angelou shows this climb of confidence when she recounts her thoughts as she hears Henry Reed sing the Negro National Anthem. She recounts at even though she had, “Never the words, despite the thousands of times I had sung them. Never thought they had anything to do me.” Angelou found new meaning in the words that she thought she understood long ago. She understood that other Negros had gone through the same feelings that she felt and had come out on top. A final example of Angelou’s renewed faith in her education is apparent when she states that, “The depths had been icy and dark, but now a bright sun spoke to our souls.” Angelou is filled with new resolve after the completion of the Anthem. Angelou acquires a new appreciation for her education and a newfound pride in her
In Maya Angelou’s third book of poetry And Still I Rise, the personal struggles of the African American Woman are brought to life through poetic works. With inspirations drawn from personal journeys of Maya Angelou herself, powerful poems praise, celebrate, and empathize with the feminine colored experience. Angelou’s writing sheds glaring light on themes of feminine power, beauty, and perseverance, raising the African American Woman to a pedestal that demands respect and adoration. For Angelou’s audience, the everyday woman is presented equipped with all the necessities to thrive and shine in the face of adversity. In Maya Angelou’s works “Phenomenal Woman”, “Woman Work”, and “Still I Rise”, audiences are able to connect to the strength and virtue of the woman that is brought to life through the praising of femininity, and through its power to make an impact on society.
A poet, an author, a play-write, an actress, a mother, a civil-rights activists, historian and most important a survivor. Perhaps Maya Angelou, award winning author of many books, is one of the most influential African Americans in American history. I believe that she rates at the top of the list of American authors, with Hemingway, Hawthorne, and Voight. I believe through my research and reading of Maya Angelou that she should be among the members of The American Authors Hall of Fame. Maya was born on, April 4th, 1928 as Marguerite Johnson, in St. Louis Missouri. She was raised in Stamps Arkansas, by her Grandmother Annie Henderson and Her Uncle Willie. Stamps was a rural segregated community. However, it was tight knit between the African Americans. Maya grew up during a very difficult time period in American history. They were just recovering from the Great Depression, and learning how to deal with different races of people. Maya knew this and made it clear in her writing. "It was awful to be Negro and have no control over my life. It was brutal to be young and already trained to sit quietly and listen to charges brought against my color with no chance of defense. We should be dead. I thought I should like to see us all dead, one on top of each other. A pyramid of flesh with the whit folks on the bottom, . . . and then the Negro's." (Angelou Caged Bird 153) "If growing up was painful for the Southern Black Girl, being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat." (Angelou, Caged Bird)
Marguerite Annie Johnson, better known as Maya Angelou, was an American author, poet, dancer, actress, and singer who has recently passed away on May 28th, 2014. She published seven autobiographies, and several books of poetry, and was credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees. Angelou is best known for her series of seven autobiographies, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. Her poem "On the Pulse of Morning”
Maya Angelou shows a lot of strength in her life. Angelou stood up for african Americans and women, this shows strength because she could have gotten hurt for standing up against these things. Angelou sang in clubs for a long time. This shows strength because she was african american so she could have gotten hurt if she sang something that offended white
Maya Angelou - Biography. 2014. Maya Angelou - Biography. [ONLINE] Available at: http://mayaangelou.com/bio/. [Accessed 11 April 2014].
At age 7, her mother’s boyfriend raped her. Her rapist was convicted, but turned up dead a few days later. Angelou believed his death was caused by her words causing her to silence herself for six years. With the help of reading books, she spoke again and believed words had a stronger power to them. Using her experience being discriminated for being black and a female, she details her experience in books and poems and influences society to understand the real situations she faced and the motivations she uses to empower her.
The poem “Still I Rise”, written by African American poet, Maya Angelou, portrays a powerful message throughout. In “Still I Rise”, the author talks about how people drag her down and put out false accusations about her, but she affirms that she will rise above all of the lies and hatefulness thrown at her. The author of this poem never points out her ethnicity, yet it can be inferred by the oppression she encounters and how unapologetic she came to be African American. This poem has been important throughout the years because she is not only speaking for herself, she is speaking out for all the people who have been ill-treated by society. This autobiographical poem has lead Maya Angelou to be one of the most important black female poets in America because it not only targets her initial adulthood experiences but her encounters with sexism and racism.