Maya Angelou: Poet and Intellect

My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.

Marguerite Annie Johnson Angelou, known as Maya Angelou, was an American author, poet, actress, screenwriter, and civil rights activist. She is known for her novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which made her the first non-fiction, African American best selling author. Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928. She grew up in St. Louis and Stamps, Arkansas.

When Angelou was three-years-old, her mother and father divorced, and their father sent them to Stamps, Arkansas, alone by train, to live with their paternal grandmother, Annie Henderson. In "an astonishing exception" to the harsh economics of African Americans of the time, Angelou's grandmother prospered financially during the Great Depression and World War II because the general store she owned sold needed basic commodities and because "she made wise and honest investments".

Four years later, the children's father came to stamps and returned them to their mother's care in St. Louis. At the age of eight, while living with her mother, Angelou was sexually abused and raped by her mother's boyfriend Freeman. She told her brother, and he told the rest of their family. Freeman was found guilty but was jailed for only one day. Four days after his release, he was murdered, probably by Angelou's uncles. Angelou became mute for nearly five years. She stated, "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 1961, she met South African freedom fighter Vusumzi Make. She and her son Guy moved with Make to Cairo, where Angelou worked as an associate editor at the weekly English-language newspaper “The Arab Observer”. One year later, her relationship with Make ended, and she and Guy moved to Accra, Ghana so he could attend college, but he was seriously injured in an automobile accident. In Accra, she became close friends with Malcolm X during his visit in the early 1960s. Angelou returned to the U.S. in 1965 to help him build a new civil rights organization, the “Organization of Afro-American Unity.” He was assassinated shortly afterward. Angelou moved back to the United States after his death and focused on her performing and writing. She returned to New York in 1967 and began writing and starring in her own plays. In 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. asked Angelou to organize a march. She agreed, but postponed and King was assassinated on her 40th birthday

Angelou is most famously known for these seven works: Mom & Me & Mom (2013); Letter to My Daughter (2008); All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes (1986); The Heart of a Woman (1981); Singin’ and Swingin’ and Gettin’ Merry Like Christmas (1976); Gather Together in My Name (1974); and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), which was nominated for the National Book Award.

Though she is remembered for her novels, her poetry is nothing less of exceptional. Angelou began writing poetry at a young age to help cope with some of her trauma, such as being raped. Her poems were described as the Anthems for African Americans She is known for being the first African-American woman  able to publicly discuss their personal lives. Angelou unapologetically wrote about blackness, and influenced many with her wisdom. Her work is more about self-expression and revelation, yet she has set a precedent politically.. Angelou was awarded over fifty honorary degrees.

Maya Angelou passed away at age 86 on May, 28th. She had poor health condition, but she was still working on a novel and activist work with important leaders. Thank you for your wise words, Dr. Maya Angelou!