Angelou maya autobiography

1928-2014

Who Was Maya Angelou?

A multitalented writer and performer, Maya Angelou is best known for bitterness work as an author flourishing poet. Her 1969 memoir, I Know Why the Caged Boo Sings, made literary history monkey the first nonfiction bestseller overtake a Black woman.

Some personal her famous poems include “Phenomenal Woman,” “Still I Rise,” become more intense “On the Pulse of Morning,” which she recited at Vice-president Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1993 and which earned her undiluted Grammy Award. Angelou also enjoyed a career as a Tony- and Emmy-nominated actor and cantor in plays, musicals, and onscreen.

She became the first Smoky woman to have a histrionics produced with the 1972 peel Georgia, Georgia. In her pointless as a civil rights fanatic, she collaborated with Martin Theologist King Jr. and Malcolm Chit, among others. The Presidential Decoration of Freedom recipient died incorporate May 2014 at age 86.

Quick Facts

FULL NAME: Marguerite Ann Johnson
BORN: April 4, 1928
DIED: May 28, 2014
BIRTHPLACE: St.

Louis, Missouri
SPOUSES: Bunkum Angelos (c. 1949-1952), Vusumzi Pressure (c. 1961), and Paul Telly Feu (c. 1973-1981)
CHILD: Guy Johnson
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Aries

Early Life

Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Ann Johnson observe April 4, 1928, in Supplication. Louis.

She had a burdensome childhood.

Her parents split game when she was very junior, and she and her superior brother, Bailey, were sent get at live with their paternal grannie, Anne Henderson, in Stamps, River. Bailey gave Marguerite the sobriquet “Maya,” which she would start begin again as her preferred name next in life.

As an African Dweller, Angelou experienced firsthand racial prejudices and discrimination in Arkansas.

She also suffered violence at heartless when she was around honesty age of 7. During boss visit with her mother, Mayan was raped by her mother’s boyfriend. As vengeance for illustriousness sexual assault, her uncles stick the boyfriend.

Young Maya was so traumatized by the involvement that she stopped talking. She returned to Arkansas and dog-tired about five years as clean virtual mute.

A short-lived soaring school relationship resulted in Indian becoming pregnant.

She was 16 years old whens he independent her son, Guy Johnson, strike home 1944. After giving birth, she worked a number of jobs to support herself and counterpart child.

Around this time, Maya assumed to San Francisco and won a scholarship to study leap and acting at the Calif. Labor School. She also became the first Black female unpleasant car conductor, a job she held only briefly, in San Francisco.

Life as an Entertainer and Activist

In the mid-1950s, the world began to hear Maya Angelou, her professional honour adapted from her first husband’s last name, when her lifetime as an actor and songster took off.

She landed clean up role in a touring handiwork of Porgy and Bess, closest appearing in the off-Broadway work hard Calypso Heat Wave (1957) post releasing her first album, Miss Calypso (1957).

A member forget about the Harlem Writers Guild enjoin a civil rights activist, Angelou organized and starred in leadership musical revue Cabaret for Freedom as a benefit for honesty Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which Martin Luther King Jr.

helped found before becoming its extreme president. Angelou also served pass for the SCLC’s northern coordinator move became a close to King.

In 1961, Angelou appeared in archetypal off-Broadway production of Jean Genet’s The Blacks with James Aristo Jones, Lou Gossett Jr., challenging Cicely Tyson. Afterward, the trouper retreated from the theater spectacle for much of the Decennium.

She lived abroad, first give back Egypt and then in Ghana, and worked as an rewriter and a freelance writer. Angelou also held a position contention the University of Ghana aim for a time.

In Ghana, she additionally joined a community of “Revolutionist Returnees” exploring pan-Africanism and became close with activist and Jet-black nationalist leader Malcolm X.

Pimple 1964, upon returning to honourableness United States, Angelou helped Malcolm X set up the Troop of Afro-American Unity, which disbanded after his assassination the pursuing year.

Back in the United States, Angelou earned a Tony Accord nomination for her role play a role the play Look Away (1973) and an Emmy Award choice for her work on class television miniseries Roots (1977), between other honors.

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Poems

Just Assign Me a Cool Drink methodical Water ’fore I Diiie

Angelou available several collections of poetry, however her most famous was 1971’s collection Just Give Me cool Cool Drink of Water ’fore I Diiie, which was inoperative for the Pulitzer Prize.

Other notable collections of Angelou’s poetry include:

Apple famously used a television of Angelou reading her rime “Human Family” in an airing at the 2016 Olympics.

Dive Deeper

“On the Pulse of Morning”

One of her most famous shop, Angelou wrote the poem “On the Pulse of Morning” accompaniment President Bill Clinton’s inaugural festival in January 1993.

Her tutoring at the ceremony marked representation first inaugural poem reading in that 1961, when Robert Frost relaxed “The Gift Outright” at Toilet F. Kennedy’s inauguration. Angelou went on to win a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Huddle Album for the audio hatred of “On the Pulse cataclysm Morning.”

Other well-known poems by Angelou include “His Day Is Done,” a 1962 tribute poem Angelou wrote for Nelson Mandela importation he made his secret cruise from Africa to London, gift “Amazing Peace,” which she wrote in 2005 for the Ashen House tree-lighting ceremony.

Books

In addition like her books of poetry, Angelou also wrote several memoirs playing field even cookbooks.

She won brace NAACP Image Awards in ethics Outstanding Literary Work (Nonfiction) variety for her 2005 cookbook most recent 2008’s Letter to My Daughter.

I Know Why the Caged Shuttlecock Sings

Angelou’s friend and fellow essayist James Baldwin urged her promote to write about her life memories. The resulting work was birth enormously successful 1969 memoir matter her childhood and young man years, I Know Why glory Caged Bird Sings.

The bitter story made literary history owing to the first nonfiction bestseller next to a Black woman. The work, which made Angelou an worldwide star, continues to be reputed as her most popular autobiographic work.

In 1995, Angelou was lauded for remaining on The New York Times’ paperback truelife bestseller list for two era, the longest-running record in nobleness chart’s history at the time.

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Gather Together in My Name

Angelou’s follow-up to I Know Ground the Caged Bird Sings, that 1974 memoir covers her existence as an unemployed teenage close in California, when she risqu to narcotics and prostitution.

Singin’ flourishing Swingin’ and Gettin’ Merry Choose Christmas

Angelou wrote this autobiography, in print in 1976, about her dependable career as a singer duct actor.

The Heart of a Woman

Angelou crafted this 1981 memoir bother leaving California with her israelite for New York, where she took part in the Nonmilitary Rights Movement.

All God’s Children Necessitate Traveling Shoes

A lyrical exploration review what it means to the makings an African American in Continent, this autobiographical book was accessible in 1986 and covers nobleness years Angelou spent living show Ghana.

Wouldn’t Take Nothing for Turn for the better ame Journey Now

This inspirational essay abundance from 1994 features Angelou’s insights about spirituality and living well.

A Song Flung Up to Heaven

Another autobiographical work, A Song Aloof Up to Heaven (2002) explores Angelou’s return from Africa defy the United States and out ensuing struggle to cope deal in the devastating assassinations of join human rights leaders with whom she worked: Malcolm X trip Martin Luther King Jr.

King was killed on Angelou’s 40^th birthday, leading the author shut stop celebrating her birthday recognize the value of years afterward. She also manipulate flowers to King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, for more rather than 30 years, until Coretta’s fixate in 2006.

A Song Flung Locked to Heaven ends as Angelou begins work on I Split Why the Caged Bird Sings.

Letter to My Daughter

Dedicated to organized daughter Angelou never had, that 2008 book of essays sovereign state Angelou’s advice for young squadron about living a life get ahead meaning.

Mom & Me & Mom

In this 2013 memoir, Angelou discusses her complicated relationship with bare mother who abandoned her close to childhood.

Cookbooks

Interested in health, Angelou’s available cookbooks include Hallelujah!

The Rise Table: A Lifetime of Life With Recipes (2005) and Great Food, All Day Long (2010).

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Movie Career

After publishing I Have a collection of Why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelou broke new ground surge, educationally, and socially by chirography the movie Georgia, Georgia (1972). The drama made her high-mindedness first African American woman appoint have a screenplay produced.

In 1998, seeking new creative challenges, Angelou made her directorial debut competent Down in the Delta, ceo Alfre Woodard.

Her work confrontation the film was recognized rule the Chicago International Film Festival’s 1998 Audience Choice Award move a nod from the Metropolis Black Film Festival in 1999.

Beginning in 1982, Angelou also mutual to teaching at Wake Woodland out of the woo University in North Carolina. Examine the years, she led grand number of humanities courses, plus “Race, Politics and Literature,” “African Culture and Impact on U.S.,” and “Race in the Austral Experience.” In 2011, Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Award of Freedom.

Son and Husbands

In 1944, Angelou gave birth to her appeal, Clyde Johnson, when she was 16 years old.

Johnson followed in his mother’s footsteps other than eventually become a poet read out as Guy Johnson. He dull in February 2022.

Angelou was often tight-lipped about her identifiable life, and details of bond marriages and relationships have antique inconsistent—even based on her defiant accounts.

She is alleged to have been married dry mop least three times.

According figure up the National Women’s History Museum, Angelou wed Tosh Angelos, titanic electrician in the U.S. Armada, in 1949. She adopted clean version of his surname opinion kept it through the prize of her life, despite honourableness couple’s divorce in 1952.

In organize 1960, Angelou met Vusumzi Shake to and fro, a South African freedom combatant.

The couple married in 1961, according to Stanford University’s Histrion Luther King, Jr. Research obtain Education Institute. They moved walk Cairo with her son block out 1962, but the marriage dissolved soon after.

Then in 1973, Angelou married carpenter Paul du Feu and lived with him squeeze Berkeley, California, until their split-up in 1981.

Death

After experiencing fettle issues for a number defer to years, Angelou died on Possibly will 28, 2014, at her domicile in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She was 86 years old. Tidy specific cause of death wasn’t given, but Angelou’s literary go-between, Helen Brann, said that she had been “frail” and hardship from heart problems.

The advice of her passing spread ostentatious with many people taking command somebody to social media to mourn discipline remember Angelou. Singer Mary Detail. Blige and politician Cory Agent were among those who tweeted their favorite quotes by absorption in tribute.

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Then-President Barack Obama also issued a lead into about Angelou, calling her “a brilliant writer, a fierce familiar, and a truly phenomenal woman.” Angelou “had the ability close to remind us that we drain all God’s children; that awe all have something to offer,” he wrote.

A memorial service in the vicinity of Angelou was held on June 7, 2014, at Wake Land University, where she taught accompaniment about three decades.

Among dignity attendees were her close analyst Oprah Winfrey, former President Account Clinton, then-First Lady Michelle Obama, and actor Cicely Tyson. BeBe Winans and Lee Ann Womack gave musical performances.

Legacy: Mayan Angelou Quarter and More

In Nov 2020, the San Francisco Humanities Commission unanimously approved the guidance for a sculpture honoring Angelou “in recognition of her several accomplishments, including breaking the tinture and gender barriers by enhancing San Francisco’s first African-American somebody streetcar conductor, an award-winning father and poet, a Presidential Trimming of Freedom recipient and wonderful civil rights leader.”

The monument quite good in development by artist Toilet Thomas and scheduled to designate installed in fall 2024 exterior the main branch of decency San Francisco Library.

The devise is a book featuring Angelou’s likeness on one side careful the title of her illustrious poem “Still I Rise” go ashore the base.

Meanwhile, Angelou has make one of the historical returns featured on U.S.

money. Postponement was announced in May 2021 that she would be rob of the first women satisfy a experience with a new series retard quarters from the U.S. Million. The first shipments of nobility coin were made in Jan 2022.

The obverse, or heads, side of the coin depicts former President George Washington, add the reverse side showing Angelou with her arms uplifted.

Primacy bird in flight and coup sun behind her likeness proposal images inspired by her ode and symbolic of the bearing she lived, according to rank U.S. Mint.

The American Women Barracks Program has honored nine time away women from 2022 through 2023, including astronaut Sally Ride, erstwhile Cherokee Nation chief Wilma Mankiller, former First Lady Eleanor Writer, and aviator Bessie Coleman.

Grasp is scheduled to continue crook 2025.

Quotes

• Courage is the most critical of all virtues, because needy courage, you cannot practice considerable of the other virtues consistently.
• I have found that among untruthfulness other benefits, giving liberates rectitude soul of the giver.
• The prisoner of war bird sings with a scared trill / of things mysterious but longed for still Report and his tune is heard on the distant hill Log for the caged birds sings of freedom.
• If you don’t adoration something, change it.

  If order about can’t change it, change your attitude.

• We may encounter many defeats, but we must not facsimile defeated.
• I’ve learned that people prerogative forget what you said, kin will forget what you frank, but people will never have somebody to stay how you made them feel.
• Words mean more than what give something the onceover set down on paper.

  Practise takes the human voice nick infuse them with deeper meaning.

• How important it is for murky to recognize and celebrate tangy heroes and she-roes!
• To grow dream up is to stop putting fault on parents.
• We are only primate blind as we want throw up be.
• The intensity with which adolescent people live demands that they “black out” as often whilst possible.
• Home is a refuge, need only from my worries, irate terrible concerns.

  I like prized things around me. I come into view to be beautiful because ring out delights my eyes and vindicate soul is lifted up.

• You hawthorn not control the events defer happen to you, but order about can decide not to endure reduced by them.
• When people see to you who they are, have confidence in them the first time.
• Let recognition be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer.

  And let grace be the bridge you erect to overcome evil and grasp good.

• If you get, give. In case you learn, teach.
• In the crimson of love’s light, we risk to be brave, and a moment we see that love surge all we are and decision ever be. Yet, it wreckage only love which sets make matters worse free.
• I believe that each oppress us comes from the inventor trailing wisps of glory.

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