Weekend Writing: Celebrating Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou is one of the most prolific poets of all time, with her poetry depicting African-American culture and the strength of the human spirit. Often referred to as a spokeswoman for African-Americans and women, the poet had a broad career that exceeded all expectations. Today, April 4, is a celebration of Angelou's birth. In honor of National Poetry Month, there's no one better to celebrate this month than a poet who frequently reminded readers to rise above all limitations and always be brave.

Born on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, as Marguerite Annie Johnson, she received her nickname "Maya" during her childhood. It stuck and the rest was history. When Angelou was just three years old, her parents divorced and she and her older brother were sent to Stamps, Arkansas to live with her paternal grandmother, Annie Henderson. This was mostly a positive decision because her grandmother prospered financially during the Great Depression and World War II, unlike many other African-Americans during that time.

Maya Angelou during her childhood (photo/mayaangelou.com).

Four years later, when Angelou was eight years old, the children's father visited Stamps without any warning. He brought them back to live with their mother in St. Louis. While living with her mother, Angelou was sexually abused and raped by her mother's boyfriend. When she told her brother, he informed the rest of the family. The boyfriend was later murdered, most likely by Angelou's uncles.

Traumatized by this event, Angelou became mute for nearly five years. She said, "I thought, my voice killed him. I killed that man because I told his name. And then I thought I would never speak again, because my voice would kill anyone."

In 1944, at just 16 years old, Angelou gave birth to a son, Guy, from a short-lived high school relationship. The father was never in the picture, and Angelou had to work several jobs to support herself and her son.

(photo/I For Her)

During World War II, Angelou moved to San Francisco, California. While there, she won a scholarship to study dance and acting at the California Labor School. She found a job as a cable car conductor--becoming the city's first African-American cable car conductor.

You don't associate Angelou as a performer. She was a poet and speaker. However, in the mid-1950s, Angelou's career as a performer began to take off. She performed in various off-Broadway theatrical productions, including Calypso Heat Wave and The Blacks. She even released a solo album, Miss Calypso (1957).

Angelou went on to earn a Tony Award nomination for her role in the 1973 play, Look Away. She also received an Emmy Award nomination for her work in the 1977 television miniseries, Roots. 

Maya Angelou as a performer (photo/Daily Mail).

In 1952, Angelou married her first husband, Anastasios Angelopulos, a Greek sailor who she would take her professional name--a mixture of her childhood name and a shortened version of his surname. The couple later divorced. Angelou was very secretive about her personal life and her intimate relationships. It's believed she was married three more times, but historians don't know for sure.

Maya Angelou (photo/MSNBC.com)

During the 1960s, Angelou spent most of her time abroad, living in Egypt and Ghana, where she worked as an editor and a freelance writer. She also worked as a professor at the University of Ghana. While in the African country, she explored pan-Africanism and became close with human rights activist and black nationalist leader Malcolm X. In 1964, Angelou returned to the United States and she helped Malcolm X set up the Organization of Afro-American Unity.

By the 1960s, Angelou was establishing herself as a prolific poet. She began publishing poems and solidified her presence in the literary community in the 1970s. She published her work in various collections, including Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Die; Oh, Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well; And Still I Rise; I Shall Not Be Moved; and many others. Angelou also published a variety of poetry books, including Gather Together in My Name, The Heart of a Woman, A Song Flung Up in Heaven, Letter to My Daughter, and others.

Angelou's most-famous poetry book is her 1969 collection, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. The poet's good friend, James Baldwin, encouraged her to write about her personal experiences. Angelou had a long history plagued by many heartbreaking moments. It was fitting for her to reflect on these experiences through her poetry.

Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (photo/Public Radio International).

The book made Angelou an international star. To this day, it is regarded as one of the most honest, gutwrenching collections ever to be written. Angelou wrote about race, sexual abuse, and violence, and you can't help but feel empowered and forever changed by the writing.

10 of the Best Maya Angelou Poems: 

• "Phenomenal Woman"
• "Caged Bird"
• "On the Pulse of Morning"
• "Alone"
• "A Plagued Journey"
• "The Mothering Blackness"
• "Harlem Hopscotch" 
• "When I Think About Myself"
• "A Brave and Startling Truth"
• "Still I Rise"

After suffering from a number of health issues in her elderly years, Angelou passed away on May 28, 2014, at her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She was 86 years old. The news of her passing affected everyone who loved her and her writing. People took to social media to mourn and remember her. 

Maya Angelou (photo/ABC News)

President Barack Obama issued a statement about the literary icon, calling her a "brilliant writer, a fierce friend, and a truly phenomenal woman." He added, "Angelou had the ability to remind us that we are all God's children; that we all have something to offer." 

That describes Angelou's legacy. She was a brilliant writer who helped readers form a spiritual connection. She wrote about the truth. She poured her honest words into her writing. She wrote poems that make us stop and ponder at life's questions. She became a brave face for the African-American community, and she was certainly a phenomenal woman in every way. 

She will always be an important icon in the literary community. We must always remember her and her beautiful writing.

Always.

-KJL-

(photo/AZ Quotes)