Some may know her as Marguerite Ann Johnson, but most of the world calls her Maya Angelou. This is one of America&#;s most notable contemporary poets. But she&#;s more complex than that. Her list of professions is long and diverse:, author, playwright, civil rights activist, film producer, professor, television producer, film director, actress, dancer, and finally, a poet. Born in in St. Louis, Missouri, Angelou had a rather traumatic childhood. At the age of eight, her mother&#;s boyfriend raped and abused the young girl. She told her brother about the incident, which ultimately resulted in the man&#;s conviction and sentencing. For whatever reason, he was released a day later; however, four days after his release, he was found murdered. Angelou believed that she had somehow caused the man&#;s death with her voice. The result was a period of selective mutism, where she refused to speak for nearly five years. It was during that period that she apparently developed her appreciation for literature and books. She also developed a special gift for observing things happening around her, listening to every word that was spoken. This was also the time during which her skill at memor
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
Maya Angelou () was not just a poet, of course: she was an influential civil rights campaigner in the United States, and her autobiography, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, is a classic of the genre. But several of her poems are well-known, and she was popular as a poet during her lifetime and a couple of the poems that follow, at the very least, remain famous.
Below, we’ve picked some of Maya Angelou’s very best poems, as a ‘way in’ to her work.
‘Still I Rise’.
This wonderfully self-assertive poem about picking yourself up and striving to achieve, even in the face of adversity, was used for an advertising campaign by the UNCF in the US, but its message of selfhood and determination is one that should be heard by all.
A kind of protest poem which is defiant as well as celebratory, ‘Still I Rise’ is about the power of the human spirit to overcome discrimination and hardship, with Angelou specifically reflecting her attitudes as a black American woman. Maya Angelou’s work, both her poetry and her autobiographies, is about the importance of not being defeated by the obstacles and challenges life throws at you.
When ‘you’ he
Maya Angelou's Poem about Michael Jackson: 'We Had Him'
Queen Latifah, one of the many celebrities that paid tribute to Michael Jackson at the singer's public memorial at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Tuesday- said how much she loved and admired the King of Pop.
She then went on to read a poem that Maya Angelou wrote in tribute for the occasion called We Had Him
Read the beautiful poem below:
Beloveds, now we know that we know nothing, now that our bright and shining star can slip away from our fingertips like a puff of summer wind.
Without notice, our dear love can escape our doting embrace. Sing our songs among the stars and walk our dances across the face of the moon.
In the instant that Michael is gone, we know nothing. No clocks can tell time. No oceans can rush our tides with the abrupt absence of our treasure.
Though we are many, each of us is achingly alone, piercingly alone.
Only when we confess our confusion can we remember that he was a gift to us and we did have him.
He came to us from the creator, trailing creativity in abundance.
Despite the anguish, his life was sheathed in mother love, family love, and survived and did more than that.
He thriv
Writer Maya Angelou&#;s sad passing reminds us of the beautiful poem she wrote about Michael upon his death 5 years ago, called &#;We Had Him&#;. Read by Queen Latifah at his Memorial Service in , the poem read:
Beloveds, now we know that we know nothing, now that our bright and shining star can slip away from our fingertips like a puff of summer wind.
Without notice, our dear love can escape our doting embrace.
Sing our songs among the stars and walk our dances across the face of the moon.
In the instant that Michael is gone, we know nothing. No clocks can tell time. No oceans can rush our tides with the abrupt absence of our treasure.
Though we are many, each of us is achingly alone, piercingly alone.
Only when we confess our confusion can we remember that he was a gift to us and we did have him.
He came to us from the creator, trailing creativity in abundance.
Despite the anguish, his life was sheathed in mother love, family love, and survived and did more than that.
He thrived with passion and compassion, humor and style.
We had him whether we know who he was or did not know, he was ours and we were his.
We had him, beautiful, delighting our eyes.
His hat, aslant
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