Raven and Hilary
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Her real name is Marguerite Annie Johnson.
She was born April 4, 1982 in St. Louis, Missouri.
Her parents divorced so she was sent to live with her grandmother and grew up in
Stamps, Arkansas.
At the age of seven, Maya was molested by her mothers boyfriend and was so
ashamed she didn’t speak for five years.
She attended Mission High School and received a scholarship to study dance and
drama.
She dropped out of school because she became pregnant and was left to fend for
herself as well as her son at the age of sixteen.
She is best known for her Autobiographical novels and was once referred to as
“America's most visible black female autobiographer” by scholar Joanne M.
Braxton.
She is a Poet, civil rights activist, dancer, film producer, television producer,
playwright, film director, author and actress.
Some of her honors and awards include; National Book Award nomination, a
Pulitzer Prize nomination, a Tony nomination for her role in Look Away, and three
Grammys.
Also Musician Ben Harper has honored Angelou with his song "I'll Rise", which
includes words from her poem, "And Still I Rise”
Some clichty folks
don't know the facts,
posin' and preenin'
and puttin' on acts,
stretchin' their backs.
They move into condos
up over the ranks,
pawn their souls
to the local banks.
Buying big cars
they can't afford,
ridin' around town
actin' bored.
If they want to learn how to live life
right
they ought to study me on Saturday
night.
My job at the plant
ain't the biggest bet,
but I pay my bills
and stay out of debt.
I get my hair done
for my own self's sake,
so I don't have to pick
and I don't have to rake.
Take the church money out
and head cross town
to my friend girl's house
where we plan our round.
We meet our men and go to a joint
where the music is blue
and to the point.
Folks write about me.
They just can't see
how I work all week
at the factory.
Then get spruced up
and laugh and dance
And turn away from
worry
with sassy glance.
They accuse me of livin'
from day to day,
but who are they kiddin'?
So are they.
My life ain't heaven
but it sure ain't hell.
I'm not on top
but I call it swell
if I'm able to work
and get paid right
and have the luck to be
Black
on a Saturday night.
Beloved,
In what other lives or lands
Have I known your lips
Your Hands
Your Laughter brave
Irreverent.
Those sweet excesses that
I do adore.
What surety is there
That we will meet again,
On other worlds some
Future time undated.
I defy my body's haste.
Without the promise
Of one more sweet encounter
I will not deign to die.
There are some nights when
sleep plays coy,
aloof and disdainful.
And all the wiles
that I employ to win
its service to my side
are useless as wounded pride,
and much more painful.
Lying, thinking
Last night
How to find my soul a home
Where water is not thirsty
And bread loaf is not stone
I came up with one thing
And I don't believe I'm wrong
That nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.
There are some millionaires
With money they can't use
Their wives run round like
banshees
Their children sing the blues
They've got expensive
doctors
To cure their hearts of stone.
But nobody
No, nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Now if you listen closely
I'll tell you what I know
Storm clouds are gathering
The wind is gonna blow
The race of man is suffering
And I can hear the moan,
'Cause nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone
A free bird leaps on the back
Of the wind and floats downstream
Till the current ends and dips his wing
In the orange suns rays
And dares to claim the sky.
The free bird thinks of another breeze
And the trade winds soft through
The sighing trees
And the fat worms waiting on a dawnbright
Lawn and he names the sky his own.
But a BIRD that stalks down his narrow cage
Can seldom see through his bars of rage
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.
But a caged BIRD stands on the grave of
dreams
His shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
Of things unknown but longed for still
And his tune is heard on the distant hill for
The caged bird sings of freedom.
The caged bird sings with
A fearful trill of things unknown
But longed for still and his
Tune is heard on the distant hill
For the caged bird sings of freedom
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil
wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like
teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.
Does my haughtiness offend
you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold
mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
We wrote a poem based on the format of “refusal”
Beloved,
In what other lives or lands
Have I known your lips
Your Hands
Your Laughter brave
Irreverent.
Those sweet excesses that
I do adore.
What surety is there
That we will meet again,
On other worlds some
Future time undated.
I defy my body's haste.
Without the promise
Of one more sweet encounter
I will not deign to die.
Sister,
Every single day is the same,
You inspire me.
Your pale skin,
Your bright green eyes.
Flawless.
Those comforting hugs
I do adore
You take my pain away
Replace it with joy and laughter
You have a certain way
of making everything okay again
at only the age of nine,
You have a gift,
One that I wish I had.
You take all the pain away.
Insomniac by Maya Angelou is about having trouble with falling asleep. She
says “And all the wiles that I employ to win” showing that she tries as hard as
she can to fall asleep but can’t.
She uses personification in the line;
“There are some nights when sleep plays coy”
She uses simile in the line;
“ its service to my side is useless as wounded pride”
I think the theme of this poem is loneliness. The language in this poem and the
dark feeling you get gives off a sense of being lonely, and she just wants to fall
asleep so she doesn’t have to feel anymore.
Overall I liked the poem and how it was written. The language used makes you
feel as if it were your own personal experience.
1. What literary devices are present in Still I Rise?
2. What did you like or not like about the poem and
why?
3. What do you think the theme of Still I Rise is?
Bibliography
http://mayaangelou.com/bio/
http://www.poemhunter.com/maya-angelou/