~Woman in Poetry~

Maya Angelou is an American poet, memoirist, actress and an important figure in the American Civil Rights Movement. She was born as Margaret Ann Johnson on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. ‘I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings’ is her first work of literature. Her work reflects the struggle that she had in her early age. Maya Angelou had a very complicated childhood, where she had to face her parents divorced. She was also raped by her mother’s boyfriend at the age of 8 years old. Her personality changed from a joyful and active girl to a passive and mute one. This incident had given a major impact on her life. She was then helped by a woman named Mrs. Flowers to search for her pride and confidence she once had. Her bad childhood cause her to struggle with maturity. She found herself pregnant and delivered her son at the age of sixteen.

            We could clearly see that her background history did influence her work. She wrote her work with a twist of lyrical imagery and a touch of realism. She expressed herself in her work most of the time. Her other famous work are Still I Rise, Touched by An Angel, Phenomenal Woman, Rememberance and etc.