Secrets of a Sassy Survivor
By Ana Figueroa
"When it looks like the sun will not shine anymore, God puts a rainbow in the clouds." Maya Angelou often quotes these words, although she didn't write them. They come from an African American folk song and point to the overarching themes of Angelou's life. These themes-courage, survival, and the celebration of the human spirit-resonate in the works of this remarkable poet, author, dancer, actress, producer, director, historian, and activist. Angelou also fulfills another impressive role: that of teacher. Since 1982, she has been Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Recently, family and friends gathered near the campus to celebrate Angelou's 75th birthday.
Angelou has given us soul-baring details of her remarkable life, beginning with her groundbreaking 1970 autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. The book is a searing account of Angelou's early childhood. Born Marguerite Johnson, Angelou was raised in segregated Stamps, Arkansas, by her grandmother and disabled uncle, Willie. As a young girl, she went to live with her mother in St. Louis. She was raped at age eight by her mother's boyfriend, who was later killed by police. Afterwards, Angelou didn't speak for seven years. At 16, she found herself unmarried and pregnant. She worked as a waitress, dancer, even as a madam, to support herself and her son. After years of encouragement from those around her, she began to put her incredible story down on paper.
Five volumes of her autobiography followed Caged Bird, culminating in last year's A Song Flung Up to Heaven. These bestsellers, as well as numerous personal essays, books of poetry, short stories, plays, and screenplays, have brought Angelou worldwide acclaim and countless awards. Her prose and poetry are national treasures, taught in classrooms across the country. But Angelou's mesmerizing voice, its unmistakable power, pride and richness, is her signature trait. Who can forget that voice, booming from the podium at Bill Clinton's first inaugural, as the hushed crowd listened to her recite the poem she wrote for the occasion, "On the Pulse of Morning?"
Angelou was invited by Wake Forest University to speak as a guest lecturer in 1973, where provost emeritus, Ed Wilson, Ph.D recalls, "She charmed and captivated everyone when she came." Later, asked if she would consider teaching, Angelou agreed, thinking that she would try it for a year or so. That was more than 20 years ago. "I thought I was a writer who could teach, and the truth is I'm a teacher who writes," said Angelou, in an interview with AARP (Modern Maturity, 2001).
The decision to offer a permanent professorship to Angelou did not come without controversy. The recipient of numerous honorary degrees, Angelou had no bachelor's degree. Moreover, "the presence of a prominent African American writer on a Southern campus was very forward-looking at the time," observes Wilson. But Angelou arrived, set up a home and office, and soon charmed the town, as she had the campus. In the past two decades, she has left an indelible mark on those fortunate enough to encounter her fluid teaching style (see sidebar). Although the subject matter of Angelou's courses ranges from African slave narratives to Macbeth, her teaching philosophy remains constant. As she explained to AARP, "A great teacher makes all her knowledge available to the student."
Angelou, known for her passion and commitment to learning, works relentlessly to instill in others a love of reading, and especially of poetry. At a recent speaking engagement at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, she received great applause when she explained how poetry brought her out of her seven-year silence. A friend of her grandmother's told her she could never love poetry unless she spoke it. "Poetry helped me to return to my voice," she said, "and as you've noticed, I've hardly stopped talking since."
African American folk song and poetry are Angelou's primary focus, in the classroom and on tour. The genre, which she laments as "so little cherished" today, has provided the titles for many of her books. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings comes from the poem, "Sympathy," by Paul Laurence Dunbar; Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie comes from the folk song, "John Henry." Angelou encouraged parents in the University of Massachusetts audience to read such works to their children and to take from them important lessons of survival. "Blacks, Asians, Native Americans, Hispanics need to know that someone was there before you, someone was abused before you, and someone survived," she said. "In these times, we must not just survive, but strive to do so with "grace, sass, and dignity"- words that seem to apply her own life.
Angelou often talks about survival and overcoming overwhelming odds. In 1945, she was unmarried, pregnant, and living in San Francisco with few resources. At the same time, a newly formed United Nations was holding its first meetings, near the San Francisco city hall. Angelou, who had an aptitude for languages, yearned to join the ranks of the translators she observed streaming in and out of the building. "I used to think, if I wasn't black, pregnant, and six feet tall, I could go into that building too," she told a recent audience. Angelou got her wish a few years ago, when the United Nations commissioned her to write a poem commemorating the organization's 50th anniversary.
Angelou has turned to that poem, A Brave and Startling Truth, at recent speaking engagements. Its words, "release our fingers/From fists of hostility," she says, and speaks of "the day of peacemaking," are especially poignant in light of current world events. "We must encourage courage. Encourage peacemaking," she told the University of Massachusetts audience- just one more of her favorite themes.
As she enters into her 76th year, she's as busy as ever. She is teaching a class this spring, "World Poetry in Dramatic Performance." She remains one of the country's most in-demand motivational speakers. And she is a fixture in Winston-Salem's cultural life, often performing at public readings and hosting visiting dignitaries. As for the future, Angelou is a pragmatist, always looking for her rainbows in the clouds. "I don't have the same amount of time ahead of me as I have had, or even one-half that, or even one-third," she told AARP in an interview a few years ago. "I am living as well as I can and being as generous as I can be, and leaving a lot for people. My legacy is encouragement to people to have courage to laugh, to dare, to live."
