Eddie Heinrich
Mrs. Bosch
English 10 Honors
14 April 2007

Phenomenal Woman

Throughout human history there have lived countless people, all contributing to the development of mankind in a unique way. Although each individual is only a mere drop in the vast ocean of life, their significance can often be measured through their actions and the courses they took in life. Commonly, such notable significance and usually intriguing aspects can be observed in the lives of poets. A poet is by definition a person who writes poetry, but with this title often associates harsh lifestyles and emotional distress. One most spectacular woman and contemporary poet worthy of great recognition is Maya Angelou. This extraordinary person is commonly acknowledged as one of the greatest African American writers of all time, and the most famous black female writer of all time. Growing up as a poor, African American girl in southern United States, Angelou lived a difficult and extremely discriminated early life. As Angelou endured many hardships, she turned to poetry as an outlet and used many aspects of her personal life as inspirations for her numerous writings. In response to the difficult times in her life, Angelou rose up and went on to accomplish many things, along with contributing a great deal to society. It is through this hard life and great achievements along with the extreme passion of her works that Maya Angelou can be recognized as a truly amazing individual.

Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Ann Johnson on April 4, 1928. Hard times did not spare Angelou, even at a young age, as her parents divorced when she was only three years old. Little Maya and her then four year-old brother, Bailey, were “sent alone, by train, to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas” (Maya Angelou). With the split of her parents at such an early age, this played a great emotional toll on Angelou, although it led to a strengthened relationship with her brother. While living with her grandmother, Angelou was encompassed in deep religious and traditional African American culture, and “credits her grandmother and her extended family with instilling in her the values that informed her later life and career” (America’s Renaissance Woman). Even as a youth, Angelou was passionate for creative arts, and attended a variety of dance classes including foxtrot, jazz, tap, and salsa. After living in Stamps for four years with their grandmother, the children were sent back to their mother. At age seven Angelou was raped by her mother’s boyfriend, Mr. Freeman. Completely shaken, she confided in her brother. As she later learned that her uncle had beaten the man to death, she believed that "the power of [her] words led to someone's death,” and became a mute (Maya Angelou). Unable to cope, Angelou’s mother sent the children back to live with their grandmother. It was during these silent five years in Stamps that Angelou became friends with Mrs. Flowers, of whom she credits for helping her "refind her voice" (Maya Angelou). At age thirteen, Angelou began speaking again, and rejoined her mother in San Francisco. With such a seemingly harsh and complicated childhood, it wouldn’t have seemed likely (especially in the segregated southern United States) that Angelou would find the motivation or opportunity to become so well-rounded and successful, but this unique and driven woman took every opportunity in life to eventually become the distinguished figure that she did.
Angelou attended Mission High school in San Francisco, and was granted a scholarship to attend the California Labor School, where she “was exposed to the progressive ideals that animated her later political activism” (America’s Renaissance Woman). In her teens, Angelou dropped out of high school to be San Francisco’s first African American female cable car operator. She later re-entered high school, but became pregnant during her senior year, giving birth to her son, Clyde (nicknamed Guy) only a few weeks after graduation. Angelou was now a single mother entering the work force. After a couple years on her own, Angelou fell in love with and married the Greek Sailor, Tosh Angelos in 1949. Angelou describes this period of her life in her autobiographical novel Singin’ and Swingin’ and Gettin’ Merry Like Christmas in which Angelos provided a “temporary source of stability for her and her son, but after three years of marriage they fell out of love” and divorced (Maya Angelou). During this marriage, however, Angelou was able to find work as a singer at the Hungry i San Francisco night club, which is when she adapted the name “Maya Angelou” as a combination of her childhood nickname and an alternative of her husband’s last name. This was an extraordinary turning point in Angelou’s life; she was able to establish herself as an independent woman, earning her own wages, and allowed her to do it while doing something she loved – singing. From here, Angelou’s performing career flourished and she even went on to record an album, Calypso Lady, in 1957 (America’s Renaissance Woman). Angelou’s career in creative and performing arts endured for about eight years from 1952, starting with a scholarship granted to her to study dance with Pearl Primus. Two years later, she would go on to star in her first professional performance at the Purple Onion, and then tour with and star in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. Her later works include appearances in the off-Broadway play, Calypso Heat Wave in 1957, writing, producing, and starring in a Godfrey Cambridge collaboration “Cabaret for Freedom” in 1960, along with a performance in Genet’s The Blacks (Maya Angelou 1928-). As many blacks were still struggling for equal rights and better work opportunities at this time, Maya Angelou had already set a successful, well-rounded path in her life, doing what she loved. Despite her success, Angelou didn’t achieve all of this without the common struggle, and would later take action against the unjust and degrading society in which she had for so long lived – a period that would greatly influence many of her most outstanding and well-renowned works.

Angelou hit another turning point in her life when she traveled to London and Africa with the political activist, Vasumzi Make, and moves with him and her son to Cairo, Egypt in 1961 (Maya Angelou 1928-). Angelou found work as the “editor of the English language weekly The Arab Observer” (America’s Renaissance Woman). Angelou continued a writing career as she moved to Ghana and worked at the Ghanian Times while teaching at the School of Music and Drama and University of Ghana from 1963 - 1966. The period in which Angelou resided in Africa had a deep impact on her perspective and her belief on how others value life, as demonstrated in her poem, Televised:
certainly nothing will follow, save
the sad-eyed faces of
bony children,
distended bellies making
mock at their starvation. (Lines 6 - 10)
During her stay in Africa, Angelou worked with the American dissident leader, Malcolm X, and planned on aiding his effort in the US. This effort was soon shot down with Malcolm X’s assassination in 1968 (America’s Renaissance Woman). Angelou also worked with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the American Civil Rights movement. Angelou had strong feelings and was greatly moved during this time in her life. Having experienced segregation since childhood, she developed a great spirit in progressing the movement toward equal rights, as expressed in her poem, Equality:
You do own to hear me faintly
as a whisper out of range,
while my drums beat out the message
and the rhythms never change.
Equality, and I will be free.
Equality, and I will be free. (Lines 5 - 10)
It is clear, as the topic of race and unjust biased opinion is the topic of many of her poems, that this issue played a huge influential role in her life. Having decided to extend her career toward a more literary path, Angelou took up writing and published her first autobiographical novel, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in 1970 (Maya Angelou 1928-). A year later, Angelou went even further and published her first book of poetry, Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Diiie. Up until 1995, Angelou would continue to write until eight more books of her poetry and six of her autobiographies had been published (Maya Angelou 1928-). Angelou also continued to act and appeared as Kunta Kinte’s grandmother in the television series, Roots. Angelou’s works have been recognized far and wide and has even earned political respect considering that “President Ford appointed her to the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission and President Carter invited her to serve on the Presidential Commission for the International Year of the Woman” and later even “President Clinton requested that she compose a poem to read at his inauguration in 1993" (America’s Renaissance Woman). Not only has Angelou been appreciated by many others, but she herself has recognized the unshakable spirit that lies within her, as she expresses in her poem Phenomenal Woman:
Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me. (Lines 46 - 60)
Clearly, Maya Angelou had led the life of no ordinary woman. Her tough spirit pulled her through hard times, and as a result this single black female rose up in a society filled with horrible segregation to accomplish more, with so many restrictions, than most people do with opportunities right in front of them. This remarkable woman did not lead just one life, but lived the life of a novelist, a poet, a political activist, a mother, a worker, a performer, and through it all became an inspiration. Through her many remarkable accomplishments and overall take on life, we can see what a true modern renaissance woman is, we can see how motivation and inspiration leads to magnificent things, and we can see what it truly means to live.

Works Cited

“America’s Renaissance Woman.” Academy of Achievement: A Museum of Living History. 29 August 2005. Academy of Achievement. 14 April 2007 .
Holland, Kelly. “Maya Angelou 1928-.” UNCP. 1998.University of North Carolina at Pembroke. 14 April 2007 .
"Maya Angelou." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 13 April 2007. 14 April 2007 .