Maya Angelou April 4 th, 1928 – By: Student # 3 February 4, 2013

 Her parents were Bailey Johnson and Vivian Baxter Johnson.  She was born in St. Louis, Missouri.  Her parents divorced when she was 3 years old.  Has a younger brother named Bailey Jr.  Maya Angelou experienced the brutality of racial discrimination.  She was also raped by her mother’s boyfriend when she was seven years old.  Angelou felt responsible, and stopped talking. Also remained mute for 5 years.  Her Teacher Bertha Flowers helped Maya speak again and encourage her interest in literature.  Angelou graduated at the top of her eighth-grade class. Maya’s Childhood

 Angelou attended George Washington High School in San Francisco.  She received a scholarship to study dance and drama at San Francisco’s Labor School.  At 14 she dropped out to become San Francisco’s first African-American female cable car conductor.  She later finished high school and gave birth to her son Guy at the age of seventeen, a few weeks after graduation.  As a young single mother, she supported her son by working as a waitress and cook. Maya’s Teenage Years

 Was a singer dancer, actress, composer, first female black director.  She is most famous for being a writer, editor, essayist, playwright and poet.  Angelou married a Greek sailor, Tosh Angeles in 1950 but her marriage only lasted for a few months.  In 1954 to 1955, Maya Angelou toured with a production of the opera “Porgy and Bess.”  1957 she recorded her first album “Calypso Lady.”  Acted in the historic Off-Broadway production of Jean Genet’s “The Blacks,” wrote and performed “Cabaret for Freedom.” Maya’s Life Experiences

 As a civil rights activist, Angelou worked for Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcom X.  She met Oprah Winfrey and became her friend and mentor.  Is currently the Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University.  Dr. Angelou has served on two presidential committees, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Arts in  Received The Lincoln Medal in 2008 and 3 Grammy Awards. More Life Experiences..

 Maya Angelou experienced Racism which was the segregation and violence between the two races of African-Americans and Caucasians.  World War II was also another issue in society during her time.  It influence her to start writing autobiographies which were based on what she experienced during her lifetime. Issues in Society

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings (1969)  A free bird leaps on the back Of the wind and floats downstream Till the current ends and dips his wing In the orange suns rays And dares to claim the sky. But a BIRD that stalks down his narrow cage Can seldom see through his bars of rage His wings are clipped and his feet are tied So he opens his throat to sing. The caged bird sings with a fearful trill Of things unknown but longed for still And his tune is heard on the distant hill for The caged bird sings of freedom.  The free bird thinks of another breeze And the trade winds soft through The sighing trees And the fat worms waiting on a dawn- bright Lawn and he names the sky his own. But a caged BIRD stands on the grave of dreams His shadow shouts on a nightmare scream His wings are clipped and his feet are tied So he opens his throat to sing. The caged bird sings with A fearful trill of things unknown But longed for still and his Tune is heard on the distant hill For the caged bird sings of freedom.

On the Pulse of Morning (1993)  A Rock, A River, A Tree Hosts to species long since departed, Marked the mastodon, The dinosaur, who left dried tokens Of their sojourn here On our planet floor, Any broad alarm of their hastening doom Is lost in the gloom of dust and ages. But today, the Rock cries out to us, clearly, forcefully, Come, you may stand upon my Back and face your distant destiny, But seek no haven in my shadow, I will give you no hiding place down here. You, created only a little lower than The angels, have crouched too long in The bruising darkness Have lain too long Facedown in ignorance, Your mouths spilling words Armed for slaughter. The Rock cries out to us today, You may stand upon me, But do not hide your face.

A Brave Startling Truth (1995)  We, unaccustomed to courage exiles from delight live coiled in shells of loneliness until love leaves its high holy temple and comes into our sight to liberate us into life. If we are bold, love strikes away the chains of fear from our souls. Love costs all we are and will ever be. Yet it is only love which sets us free. A Brave and Startling Truth. It is possible and imperative that we discover A brave and startling truth.  When we come to it We, this people, on this wayward, floating body Created on this earth, of this earth Have the power to fashion for this earth A climate where every man and every woman Can live freely without sanctimonious piety And without crippling fear When we come to it We must confess that we are the possible We are the miraculous, the true wonders of this world That is when, and only when We come to it.

LifePatienceCourage Distinctive Characteristics of Works

Topics & Themes of Poems I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Topic: Sexual abuse and Violence Theme: Terrified, Traumatized, and Neglected On the Pulse of Morning Topic: Peace, Racial and Religious Harmony Theme: Leadership and Unity A Brave Starling Truth Topic: United Nations Theme: Courage to Love

Literary Terms Onomatopoeia: The sighs of tree Alliteration: His shadow shouts on a nightmare scream

No rhyme schemes, broken down into stanzas. Uses metaphors in her poem. Ex) The caged sings for freedom All her poems talk about unity Style/Form

 Conclusion:  I learned that Maya Angelou had to overcome issues related to racism. Ms. Angelou used poetry to express what she was feeling. I think she used poetry as an escape from what was happening in society.  Poetry foundation: Maya Angelou ( 4 April 2004). 28 January  “Timeline: Maya Angelou.” 28 January Conclusion/ Work Cited Page