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Praised as a multi-talented superstar, Maya Angelou is often depicted in his pictures as a strong-willed individualist who in most cases is referred to as a feminist writer. She is a woman who has been described by innumerable adjectives since her job description supersedes the usual feminist writers. Maya Angelou is an American from the African descent; who was also a spirited historian, a knowledgeable lecturer, inquisitive journalist, a skilled filmmaker, a creative poet, a creative actress, and a narrator. The descriptions that have been used indicate that she was a versatile writer who could not fit in any one uniform description. Her versatility has been one of the reasons that have made her become a household name for almost all scholars in the literary field (Palupi p4). Also, her determination to overcome some of the barriers that have impeded the otherwise talented personalities made her stand out from the other individuals. One of the ways that she demonstrated her ability to overcome all the challenges that she had been presented with included her mastery of some languages such as French, Italian, Serbo-Croatian, Arabic, and Fanti. The determination and the ultimate success serve to prove that her determination to overcome the barriers that language would have presented in her expression of the ideas. Her remarkable combination of talents and energies made her become a creative mogul who continues to be revered even after her demise; her creativity is demonstrated in all her works that have been translated to over ten languages and while at it becoming bestsellers in two continents. All these indications hint at their creativity and an eternal spirit to ensure that she was able to attain all that she had set her mind to do (Palupi p4). Her creativity has been cited not to know any boundaries and her stance on the need for people to respect her ingenuity has often been cited to highlight her dedication and creativity to her works.
Maya Angelou was a character who was hard to understand, but some personality traits are hard to miss from her rich life. Maya was a fighter, and she constantly fought for her beliefs and values throughout life. She has struggled with some of the most challenging issues that would have tampered with her genius. Her depression after being raped, her failed marriages, and even her joblessness that often led her to be immersed in undesirable actions serve to affirm that she was a fighter determined to make it in life despite the odds. Her strength to even resort to being a prostitute as long as it kept her afloat as she worked on her dream, cements the assumption that one of the most outstanding personality traits was that she was a fighter who was not ready to give up no matter the circumstances (Kirkpatrick p6). Another personality trait that is bound to catch the attention of any keen person is the fact that she had a resilience that could not be quickly taken down. Her color and her African descent often were aspects that were used as the basis for her discrimination in her interactions. Despite being a victim of racism, she was resilient and remained consistent in her dreams and never at once did she consider giving up on her dreams. Her poem’ I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’ is a memoir that is used to depict her resilience in the face of oppression to stay determined and focused on the need to ensure that she ultimately becomes a winner is another remarkable trait. Maya was also confident of her ability, and the setbacks in life did not let her spirit to be dampened. She believed in herself even at her lowest time when she was abusing drugs. Her experience in being constantly discriminated because of her heritage, her rape ordeal, and other instances that would have threatened to dampen her self-esteem was not enough to prevent her from attaining her ambitions. Angelou was also a motivator and encouraged women and the whole community to stand up for themselves. She was a woman who had considerable strength and dignity that in turn inspired many people to fight for their dreams and their beliefs. Her life and the fight to become the lauded role model are due to her personality traits that ensured that she remained a motivator even in her death.
It is interesting to note that one of the aspects that make Maya stand out from most of the other creative artists was the fact that she turned her troubled childhood and her rape ordeal to become the tutors of her creative talent. However, she borrowed the inspiration and the drive for printed work from a renowned novelist known as James Baldwin (Kirkpatrick p3). Other important influencers in inspiring the works of the people who were involved in the works included people such as Robert Loom is and the most popular cartoonist of her time who was known as Jules Feiffer. The meeting with the forces of the creative at that era inspired Maya to build more on her sketches that later turned into autobiographies. The meeting with the influential figures at the time, however, did not inspire her creative juice since she resorted to autobiographies. Her inspiration was derived from some black writers and the post-slavery events and experiences for the black writers and leaders. Her creativity was similar to James Baldwin as she adopted the set working style that ensured that he first began to write notes in longhand on yellow legal pads, which ensured that the ideas were uninhibited then moved on to filling in the unhinged ideas.
Her routine for her writing session included booking a cheap motel that was only made up of a bed as its sole furniture. (Kirkpatrick p4) Her writing schedule was extensive, and her predictive behavior was important in ensuring that the disturbances were minimal. Her recluse went on for weeks on end until she finally had a manuscript that would be allowed for publication. It is during these solitary moments that she was able to manage to write her first literary work that has garnered various literary awards and has been translated into ten languages. Moreover, her short stint at the Harlem Writers Guild helped her to refine her writing skills, and figures such as Martha Graham, Pearl Primus, and Ann Harpring were important figures that ensured that she was ready for the recognition that was bound to happen because of her talent. Other important figures in the life of Angelou included her adoptive parents Vivian who gave her a chance to be exposed to legendary artists such as William Shakespeare and other important well-known artists.
Maya Angelou continues to be recognized as an important creative because of her contribution to literature. She has hence become one of the most important voices in the world of literature even though she has been recently deceased. Apart from her obvious priceless contribution to literature, she continues being creative since she was a renowned civil rights activist. Her obvious dedication to ensuring that the Africans were freed from slavery makes her become an important figure on the African American history (Francis p4). Also, she was a poet who had released numerous poems that continue to teach literature in the classrooms. Also, her creative remains memorable because she was a creative filmmaker who produced a screenplay. Her role in empowering women to be involved in some of the careers that are perceived as the preserve of the men was a significant aspect that matched with the feminist movement at the time. Other roles that make her continue being recognized as a person who was on the forefront of changing and influencing the contemporary literature include the fact that she was a skilled and a creative dancer who used her ability to dance to hone her skills. As an educator, her ingenuity as a person who appreciated the need for the people to understand the importance of education makes her be fondly remembered even after her death. Her innumerable honorary degrees and one of the most significant one from the University of Arkansas, are some of the many contributions that she has attained in her tenure because of her contribution to the world of literature.
Maya Angelou was initially known as Marguerite Ann Johnson in the fourth of March in 1928 (Kirkpatrick p6). She was the second born from her brother known as Bailey Junior. Maya’s parents were Bailey Johnson who was a navy nutritionist and Vivian Baxter who was a nurse by qualification but preferred to engage in gambling activities and schemes. Her name Maya was coined from her brother’s incompetence and after her parents’ union had been liquidated, an adoptive family that lived in the rural region of Arkansas took in the two siblings. The community was a caring one, and the adoptive family who happened to be their grandparents greatly helped Maya to adapt to the different lifestyle that she was exposed to in the city. Her childhood was not however all rosy and comfortable as she had on numerous occasions been whooped with lashes and a near-fanatic belief of the beliefs that were advanced in the family. Their grandmother was not an open-minded parent and condemned all actions that would influence the children to stand up for themselves or even talk back to each other. The need to escape from the strict rules exposed her to the classic literature of Caucasian writers such as Edgar Poe and Shakespeare. Other authors that gave her an escape moment include African authors such as James Weldon, Paul Dunbar, and Langston Hughes.
The routine was however short-lived when she was invited to move back in the city. The simple life of living in the big city and her mum’s new man soon gave her the security that she had yearned for in a long time. The blissful break soon came to an abrupt halt when the man raped her. Moreover, she was forced to endure an insensitive session in the court testifying against him.
Her rape ordeal changed her to an angry and a volatile child that she had to go back to rural life (Kirkpatrick p5). She was withdrawn, and the rural life helped her to regain her self-worth. She continued to immerse herself to the world of classic literature as an escape from her traumatized life. She grew up to become an intelligent woman who attended secondary and college in California. At her young adulthood, she was exposed to a hard life that compelled her to resort in using drugs and engaging in prostitution to sustain herself and the son. Her career and her motivation to succeed saw her move across continents and in between having three husbands. Maya has accrued innumerable honorary degrees, and one of the most significant ones is from the University of Arkansas that acts as a reminder of her contribution to the emancipation of the black people.
Bibliography
- Kirkpatrick, Kathryn. ‘The Life and Works of Maya Angelou.’ Unpublished paper. Retrieved on April 13 (2019).
- Palupi, Ngesti Retno. ‘The Sounds of African-American in Maya Angelou’s Poems: Alone, Still I Rise, Caged Bird and Equality.’ Jurnal Ilmiah Mahasiswa Fib 7.4 (2014).
- Francis, Taylor. ‘Interviews: Maya Angelou’. The Black Scholar, 2019, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00064246.1977.11413883.
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