Maya Angelou - 1928
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Benton High School in Benton, Arkansas
Read other essays about Maya Angelou written by California student Monica Gracia
and Missouri students Melanie Seda and Shelly Laidley. I. Biography
Maya Angelou is a very influential woman who writes strong poetry. Her work contains many emotions that reach out to
people. She is a present day Arkansas writer known for her inspiring writing skills.
Marguerite Johnson was born on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. Her father Bailey was
a naval dietician and her mother Vivian was a nurse and realtor. Vivian also happened to be Marguerite's biggest influence (Lisandrelli 113). During the early part of her childhood,
she was sent to live with her grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas.
She received the first part of her now famous name from her brother Bailey when they were
children. He couldn't pronounce Marguerite so he called her Maya. The second part of her name came from one of her three husbands, Tosh Angelos (Lisandrelli 113). She
started going by the name of Maya Angelou in 1953 in San Francisco at a basement cabaret called The Purple Onion. As a dancer, singer and performer at various night clubs,
this was Maya's first big gig (Williams 20). Jazz musicians like Charlie "Bird" Parker and Miles Davis influenced Maya. As she says, "music was my refuge" (Shuker 61,65).
Maya's career didn't end with music. She's also known as an author, poet, playwright, professional stage and screen producer and director (Discovering Authors CDROM). She
explains, "at first I limited myself to short sketches, then to song lyrics, then I dared stories" (Lisandrelli 73). Maya was so interested in writing that in 1959, she and her son
Guy moved to New York so she could join the Harlem Writers Guild. There she met James Baldwin, another prominent black writer (Lisandrelli 113).
In 1970, volume one of Maya's ongoing autobiography series was published,
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. It is about a black girl growing up during the Great Depression. Other titles in the series are Gather Together in My Name, Singin' and Swingin' and
Getting Merry Like Christmas, The Heart of a Woman, and I Wouldn't Trade Nothin for My Journey Now (Szumach).
Maya won a Pulitzer Prize nomination in 1972 for Just Give me a Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie
(Ryan 100). She was also nominated in 1976 for "Woman of the Year in Communications" by the Ladies Home Journal (Shuker 122).
In 1992, a man from Maya's home state by the name of Bill Clinton asked Maya to recite a poem at his presidential inauguration. She composed "On the Pulse of Morning" for the occasion (Discovering Authors
CDROM). It is about recognizing America's failures in the past and trying to overcome them today.
She usually begins her day by getting up between 5:30am and 6am. Then, she takes a bath,
prays, drinks some coffee and gets ready to write. When she writes, she usually writes for approximately five hours. Her writing environment includes a Bible, a dictionary, some
decks of playing cards, a bottle of sherry, a Roget's thesaurus and an ashtray (Williams 3233).
Maya Angelou has a reason for writing. She felt as if she needed to write to African
Americans. Maya feels connected to Africa and wanted to reach the people with her poetry (Discovering Authors CDROM). She doesn't write for the glory of fame, but mainly
for black people to hear (Williams 32). "I speak to the black experience, but I am always talking to the human condition about what we can endure, dream, fail at and still survive" (Discovering Authors
CDROM). Her own purpose for writing is that it makes her feel strong and in control. She feels influential, which is what she likes (Szumach).
Maya continues to be one of the most important and well known poets in America today. A new edition of her Selected Poems is due to be published in 1999.
II. Works Cited
"Maya Angelou." Discovering Authors. CDROM. Gale Research, Inc. 1993 ed.
Lisandrelli, Elaine. Maya Angelou: More Than a Poet. New Jersey: Enslow Publishers, Inc., 1996.
Ryan, Bryan, ed. Major 20th Century Writers. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1991. Vol. 1.
Shuker. Nancy. Genius! The Artist and the Process. New Jersey: Silver Burdett Press, Inc., 1990.
Szumach, Leah. "Freedom and Independence in Maya Angelou's Autobiographies." The Bag Lunch. Brighton High School. 30 October 1998
Williams, Mary E. Readings on Maya Angelou. California: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1997.
This essay was submitted by a student of Suzanne Dilday, a teacher at Benton High School in Benton, Arkansas