Maya+Angelou



 =__**Life and accomplishments :**__ =   As a poet, memoirist, novelist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist Maya Angelou was born on April 4th, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, Dr. Angelou was raised in St. Louis and Stamps, Arkansas. Her given name was Marguerite Johnson. She adopted the name Maya Angelou in 1953. Angelou was awarded the Spingarn Medal in 1994 for her achievement in literature. As a young single mother, she supported her son by working as a waitress and cook. In 1954 and 1955, Dr. Angelou toured Europe with a production of the opera //Porgy and Bess//. She studied modern dance with Martha Graham danced with Alvin Ailey on television variety shows and, in 1957, recorded her first album, //Calypso Lady//. 1958, she moved to New York, where she joined the Harlem Writers Guild, acted in the historic Off-Broadway production of Jean Genet's //The Blacks// and wrote and performed //Cabaret for Freedom//. In 1960, Dr. Angelou moved to Cairo, Egypt where she served as editor of the English language weekly//The Arab Observer//. The next year, she moved to Ghana where she taught at the University of Ghana's School of Music and Drama, worked as feature editor for //The African Review// and wrote for //The Ghanaian Times//. She mastered French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic and the West African language Fanti.In Ghana, she met with Malcom X and, in 1964, returned to America to help him build his new Organization of African American Unity. Dr. Angelou has received over 30 honorary degrees and is Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University She toured Europe and Africa in the musical //Porgy and Bess// (1954–55), then sang in New York City nightclubs, joined the Harlem Writers Guild, and took part in several off-Broadway productions, including Genet's //The Blacks// and her own //Cabaret for Freedom// (1960). During the 1960s she was active in the African-American political movement; she subsequently spent several years in Ghana as editor of the //African Review.// Her six autobiographical volumes (1970–2002), beginning with //I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,// have generally been well-received. She has also published several volumes of poetry, including //And I Still Rise// (1987).

In 1981 she was appointed to a lifetime position as the first Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University. She read her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” at President Clinton's1993 inauguration. = __**What we can learn from her experiences :**__ = media type="youtube" key="JqOqo50LSZ0" height="340" width="421" align="left"

Maya passes these words of wisdom on to many generations to show them that no matter what you don't let anything stop you from fufilling your dreams. She shows us that you have to strive to achieve your dreams but you have to fall first to succeed. These are some things we can learn from Maya Angelou and her accomplishments.

=__**Why she is important for our understanding of history**__ = Maya Angelou is a huge inspiration to many people all over the world. She has influeneced people through her writings, books, poems and many other sources. She is a big influence and role model to others who are struggling to achieve their dreams. Even with being single mother supporting her kid on her own she proves any african american can make their dreams come true. Still alive to this day she continues to influence people all over the world thorugh her inspirational poems and literature. Angelou’s literature draws from the African American storytelling tradition as she weaves humor, wisdom, and folk sayings into her writing. Her works celebrate womanhood, the human spirit, and the will to overcome hardship. Angelou is best known for her series of autobiographical writings. Her first and most acclaimed installment of her autobiography is // I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings // (1970). It recounts the author’s childhood in the segregated rural South and her transition to urban life. Angelou’s poetry is compiled in // The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou // (1994). Several of her essays are collected in // Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now // (1993), // Even the Stars Look Lonesome // (1997), and // Letter to My Daughter // (2008).

=__**Most known books :**__ =

Letter To My Daughter
by Maya Angelou | Random House, 2008 Dedicated to the daughter she never had but sees all around her, Letter to My Daughter reveals Maya Angelou's path to living well and living a life with meaning. Told in her own inimitable style, this book transcends genres and categories.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
By Maya Angelou | Ballantine Books In the first volume of an extraordinary autobiographical series, one of the most inspiring authors of our time recalls--with candor, humor, poignancy and grace--how her journey began.

Still I Rise
by Maya Angelou | Random House In this inspiring poem, Angelou celebrates the courage of the human spirit over the harshest of obstacles. An ode to the power that resides in us all to overcome the most difficult circumstances, this poem is truly an inspiration and affirmation of faith.