American Female poet, writer and wordsmith, Maya Angelou was found dead in her home at Winston Salem, Arkansas early yesterday morning. She was aged 86. Angelou has battled with health issues which led to her unavoidably absence at a recent event held in her honour.
Born Marguerite Johnson, she adopted the name Maya Angelou during her active dancing career. Angelou was born in St. Louis Missouri to Bailey and Vivian Baxter Johnson on April 1928. In 1939 following their parents divorce, Angelou and her brother were relocated to Stamps, Arkansas to live with her paternal grandmother, Momma, where she currently claims her origin.
An essayist, poet, playwright, writer, educator and human right activist, she documents her life in five continuous autobiographies, detailing her life in motion, as she had lived till death. These include I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings (1971), Singing and Swinging and Getting Merry Like Christmas (1974), Gather Together in My Name (1978), Heart of A Woman (1981), All God’s Children Need Travelling Shoes (1986) and the sixth and final autobiography, A Song Flung Up to Heaven (2002).
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
Angelou draws her writings majorly from personal experience and social issues from the perceptions of the African-American. In this first autobiography, she writes about her life from the age of four to sixteen. Raped at the tender age of 7, she was trapped into a six year silence, when a mob upon her testimony killed her mother’s boyfriend who had raped her. She eventually went back to school after working as a cable conductor at the age of 14 and gave birth to her son Clyde (also known as Guy) at age 16.
Singing and Swinging and Getting Merry Like Christmas
At this period of this publication, Angelou had served on two presidential committees, first for Gerald Ford in 1975 and President Jimmy Carter in 1977. It details her life in the 50s, as a dancer, singer and prostitute as well as her life and tours with Porgy and Bess production in Europe and Africa. And further featured her fierce passion for acting and dancing.
She studied dance and drama in California and appeared in the stage musicals such as Georgia, Georgia. She aided the adaptation of first autobiography to a stage work of the same nomenclature. Her acting skill spilled onto the screen in Roots where she played the grandmother of the famous TV fictitious character, Kunta Kinte. Other movie roles include Aunt Jane in Poetic Justice (1993), Lelia Mae in There Are No Children Here and Anna in How To Make An American Quilt (1995). Her movie directorial debut earned her an Emmy nomination while her acting skill on and off Broadway got her a Tony nomination. She directed over three productions.
The Heart of A Woman
The Heart of A Woman centers on her relationships; and her struggles to raise her young son in the face of racial tension and a tumultuous love life.
Gather Together in My Name
Features the author’s early activist days, at the period she worked with Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. thus, she wasn’t free of gamut of emotions of the period.
All God’s Children Need Travelling Shoes
Tails her travelling professions in Africa, especially Egypt and Ghana where she worked as a newspaper editor and educator at the Arab Observer and The School of Music and Drama, University of Ghana respectively.
A Song Flung To Heaven
This spans four years after her return from Africa in 1964 through the moment she started work on her first autobiography in 1968. It took 15 years to finish and explores various emotionally painful events of the 1960s from the deaths of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., broken relationship even as she fought to present an uplifting spirit for readers at the end of the book. Its sincerity sold it.
Angelou has several plays, essays and speeches to her belt. Infact, unbeknown to several parts of the globe, she was an established illustrated children writer and has works like Life Doesn’t Frighten Me, My Painted House, Kofi & His Magic, Chicken and Me and Mrs. Flowers: A Moment of Friendship attests to this.
However, Angelou is popularly revered for her poetry works. Her famous poems include: On The Pulse of Morning (achieved instant fame when it was read at President Clinton’s inauguration in the year 1993), Still I Rise, The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou which include Just Give Me A Cool Drink of Water ‘Fore I Diiie (1971), (nominated for Putlizer in 1972), Oh Pray My Ways are Gonna Fit Me Well (1975) and I Shall Not Be Moved (1990). A Brave And Startling Truth, was read at the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations.
An added bonus to her poetry is her spellbinding recital of the poems. Her poems originate from traditional African-American slave and work songs, clearly projected in the use of first person narrative and perspective.
Maya described her poetry delivery at the inauguration of President Clinton in 1993, as her ‘crowning moment as a poet’. Moreso, since it made her the sole female and second poet to render poetry at such event.
Maya was the first African-American female cable car conductor at the age of 14.
The first black woman film director.
She was awarded over 50 honorary degrees despite the fact she did not attend university.
Awarded the presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the United States of America.
She was the first black woman to have a screenplay, Georgia Georgia.
Maya once said, “I have learnt that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”.
Indeed, the world remembers how she made her feel as people from all walks of life, respond to her death from giant writers such as J.K Rowling to artistes.
J.K. Rowling shared a quote of Angelou’s: “’If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.’ Maya Angelou – who was utterly amazing.”
R&B singer, Mary J. Blige, mourned with a quote as well, writing, “’There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.’ – Maya Angelou.”
Hip-hop mogul, Russell Simmons said, “RIP to one of the greatest women this world has ever known. Thank you Maya Angelou for all of the gifts and knowledge you gave us…”
House Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi wrote, “’Just like hopes springing high, Still I’ll rise.’—Maya Angelou, a truly phenomenal woman whose words will serve to lift our souls forever.”
Country singer, Darius Rucker tweeted, “My heart and soul hurt today because of the passing of a true genious, Maya Angelou. Heaven has another wonderful angel walking its golden street.”
Actress Jackée Harry shared, “’Nothing Can Dim the Light That Shines from Within.’ R.I.P. My Dear Friend & Literary #ICON, Maya Angelou. #GoneButNeverToBeForgotten
Grey’s Anatomy’s Jessica Capshaw tweeted, “Maya Angelou…I am so grateful that you shared your honesty, your talent, and your craft with the world. We have been made better for it.”
Maya Angelou, Rest In Peace.
The post The Elegant Wordsmith, Maya Angelou appeared first on Nigerian News from Leadership Newspapers.