Marguerite Annie Johnson was born in St. Louis Missouri, on April 4, 1928. Although this is her full name, the world knows her better as Maya Angelou. The mention of her name brings to mind a wide array of accomplishments: author, poet, playwright, editor, singer, songwriter and dancer. Some say, "Maya Angelou has touched more bases than Hank Aaron" (Elliot vii). All of these names still fail to reflect the true magnitude of her life and achievements. She published five autobiographical sketches; each gives a glimpse of the life her path has taken over the years (Lupton 4). According to her editor, Robert Lumis," Maya is her books" (Elliot vii). Maya Angelou writes what she knows, and for that reason, much of her work focuses around race and racism. However, her work is by no means limited to this however. Her work is expansive and covers such things as universal issues, betrayal, friendship, and love (vii). Her goal as a writer is to not only portray certain pictures to her readers but also to challenge them to change (viii).
The first of the five autobiographies is I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings (1970). This focuses on Angelou's life as a child. When she was three and her brother Bailey was four, they were shipped to live with their grandmother, affectionately known as Mama, in Stamps, Arkansas (Angelou 3). Stamps seems to be one of the defining points of Angelou's life; it is here that she begins to learn about life and see firsthand what it is like to group up black. She is surrounded by her people and faced each day with struggles and hardships of being black. This book covers such trials, as when she and Bailey are retrieved by their father and move to St. Louis to live with their mother in. Maya is eight at this point, and it is during this stay in St. Louis, she is raped by her mother's boyfriend. He had sworn her to secrecy and when the truth does come out about what he has done, he eventually winds up dead. Maya believes this death is a result of her telling about the rape and the whole event causes her to live in silence for many years (Lupton 5).
At this point, she and Bailey return to Stamps. Several caring individuals impact Maya's life over the next few years, slowly helping her get past her silence and recover from the tragedy she faced in St. Louis. Upon her graduation from eighth grade, she and Bailey move to San Francisco to live with their mother. Life changes for Angelou as Bailey begins to separate himself from her. At the conclusion of the book, she is sixteen and living in California. The little girl we saw in Stamps is replaced by a women who has made some great achievements. Not only has she graduated from high school, but also she is the first black streetcar conductor on the San Francisco trolley. Beyond that in the last few pages of the book, she finds herself pregnant and about to give birth to a son (Lupton 6,7).
The first book gives us a look at the foundation that gave Maya Angelou roots. These roots carried her through to where she is today and the family that helped her to learn, and grow into who she has become. Angelou knew at a young age more about life that some of us will even know. Although she seems innocent and uninhibited, her honesty and willingness to share her pain is more than most can ever accomplish.
The next book in her series of autobiographies is Gather Together in My Name (1974). This book begins in the late 1940's when Angelou is fighting to put her life back together and get over a period of drugs, prostitution and dependency. Much of this book focuses on the struggles and joys of raising her son Clyde, who today prefers the name Guy. When she became a mother, she was still a child herself; lacking education, a job, and experience needed to raise a child. However, she fights back, working to provide for her son. It is here that we see the beginning of her career in dance and theatre. Along with this came the struggle of how to be a mother to her son and pursue her career (Lupton 6,7).
Singin' and Swingin' and Getting' Merry Like Christmas (1976), is the third book in her autobiographical sketch. This book focuses on the success of her dancing career, and the pain of being separated from her son. As her mother cares for her son Guy, she feels like she id doing to her child exactly what her mother had done to her. The book ends with her unable to be separated from him any longer (Lupoton 7,8).
In The Heart of a Women (1981), we see Angelou has a new look at life from the eyes of a mother. She is matured and seems to have more sense of where she is headed. Her acting career is taking route. At this point, she is appointed Northern Coordinator of the Southern Christian Leadership conference. She held the office for only a short time, but it was long enough for her to meet and Marry Vusumzi Make. This marriage relocated her for a period of time to Egypt, but was short lived. Following the break up of the marriage, Guy suffered a terrible accident and they moved to Ghana until he recovered (Lupton 8). All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes (1996) continues with Angelou's life in Africa from 1962-1965. At this time in her life, she was searching for her roots. Guy recovered and had a search of his own for independence. While he worked on an education, Angelou traveled around Africa to gain a better understanding of her roots and heritage. A the end of the book, Angelou leaves her son in Ghana to finish his degree at the university, and returns to America. Feeling a sense of knowing herself and her people better gives us the idea that her return home to America will giver her a fresh start and her work will indeed have a greater value (Lupton 8,9).
Although her fifth book concludes her autobiographies, it in no way concludes her work as a whole. There are countless poems, musings and children's writings that her work also includes, as well as several awards for music, plays, and movies. Angelou is a highly educated woman as well. She graduated high school but beyond that she has achieved what she calls "direct instruction" (Lupton 16). She believes that she grew up around people who were constantly passing information on to her and teaching her the things that were most important about life. More formally, several prestigious institutions have granted her honorary doctorates. It is reported now that she holds over fifty different degrees. Many people call her Dr. Angelou, a title which makes her comfortable (16).
Many of Angelou's readers identify her as a poet first and autobiographical second. Her poems are put together in a collection called The Collected Works of Maya Angelou (1994). Some of her most famous poems are that of Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Diiie, which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Some critics believe that her greatness should be attributed to her poem On the Pulse of the Morning, which she read at the inauguration of William Clinton. She was only the second poet to ever read at a presidential inauguration, the first being Robert Frost (17).
She has written several children's books. Probably the most recognized is Life Doesn't Frighten Me (1993). This is an illustrated version of her poem from her most popular volume. And I Still Rise (1978). Her message strives to combat the dreadful reality she experienced as a black child in the south, and it also speaks to the fears of many children today, AIDS, guns, rape, and others (Lupton 23).
As mentioned before, Angelou has also had a career in the areas of television and theatre. She appeared in Porty and Bess (1954- 55). On a twenty-two nation tour, she appeared in Calypso Heatwave (1957) and also Cabaret for Freedom (1960). Off Broadway, she was in the film Roots (1977), as well as several television movies (Trosky 12).
Maya Angelou is a woman who has truly lived. That is evident in her writing and I think that is what draws people to her. She has gone through more in her life than the average person, and what sets her apart is her willingness to share and let others learn from it. She has defined I believe what it is to truly live, and what she went through gives each of her readers an idea of what life was and is to her. Maya Angelou gibes us a picture of things that few would be willing to share.
Work Cited
Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. New York: Random House, 1970.
Elliot, Jeffrey M., eds. Conversations With Maya Angelou. Mississippi: University Press, 1989.
Lupton, Mary Jane. Maya Angelou: A Critical Companion. Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1997.
Trosky, Susan M., eds.Contemporary Authors. Vol. 42. Detroit: Gale Research Inc. 1994.