Journey NowEssay Preview: Journey NowReport this essayAuthor, screenwriter and poet Maya Angelou distills the wisdom of a lifetime into this inspiring collection of down-to-earth essays about matters timely and timeless. The author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings celebrates the inimitable strength of her womanhood and the power of the word to surpass all boundaries of society and humanity.
In this small gem of a book, Angelou, the popular poet and novelist, shares her thoughts about humankind: how to respect others of different cultures, opinions, and values as taught by universal philosophies. Annie Johnson in “New Directions” and Aunt Tee in “Living Well, Living Good” are just some of the characters Angelou uses throughout to illustrate with precision and color the respect and perseverance she values. The narratives are carefully constructed with exhilarating assurance as the reader makes the transformative journey from what she is to what she must finally be.
Angelou is leery of people who give up too easily, whiners, complainers, men seeking an “earth mother” and vulgar entertainers. In this collection of short essays, many only two to three pages in length, she discusses the value of charity and her faith in God. She rages with eloquence at the deaths of loved ones, and shares her thoughts on discovering an authentic personal style, the menacing effects of racism, and pregnancy as an experience to be shared by a woman and her mate. Angelou includes reminiscences of her childhood in Stamps, Ark., on being a single mother and on dancing in a professional duo with Alvin Ailey. These quietly inspirational pieces convey her sense of life as an ongoing adventure.
- Born in a small American town, Angelou left the country after a difficult marriage and drifted in and out of the comfort of America, the land of her fatherland. In 1967, she moved back to England and began writing in a style of classical music. Her writing, especially for England’s major contemporary music scene, received attention with her novels; Angelou began composing in 1966 at the home of her sister-in-law, Lolly, and had children from all-time successes such as Jane and Jane, The Last Summer, The Girl Who Dated at Venice and a number of more successful projects, including the first three to be published in English and English-language editions in a couple of years (see
Avril
and
Angelou, The Girl Who Dated at Venice
). She found success in a number of different genres, however, including children’s and children’s songs, which she was most instrumental in writing in. Angelou had not had much success in these areas other than the classical genres, which were frequently dominated by young girls with bright minds. The success of her solo work was also well-deserved, however; she’s often considered by many poets, for her contributions are cited throughout the works as being one of the few which she has written that covers the art and life experience of America, which she describes in the books below. One especially notable literary contribution is her novel, Love, which chronicles her struggle to leave home due to poor health and poor education in America for good fortune and his wife Lolly’s work, along with the contributions by some of her best friends, Lolly’s father, and Lolly’s older sister, Mrs. Mary, who is now the late Dr. Angelina. Her book of essays also discusses the values, feelings, and opinions she feels about the world, but focuses more specifically on her own life in the United States, which often has become more of a source of distraction for her and other poets. Many artists in the American creative landscape are based on those two themes, but Angelou is particularly concerned with the American creative landscape, which has changed significantly in the last few years. Throughout her life, Angelou has had a number of experiences with her family – which include the loss and tragic birth of her two young children, Sarah and David, and the difficulties she experienced as a mother and friend. She believes that the way in which American literary work has impacted her and her children and affected contemporary American literature is significant, although she has expressed her concern that “no book is more important than a poem or a song-and-dancing story where a girl, an orphan, has her first and only child”. In her reflections on Angelou
- Born in a small American town, Angelou left the country after a difficult marriage and drifted in and out of the comfort of America, the land of her fatherland. In 1967, she moved back to England and began writing in a style of classical music. Her writing, especially for England’s major contemporary music scene, received attention with her novels; Angelou began composing in 1966 at the home of her sister-in-law, Lolly, and had children from all-time successes such as Jane and Jane, The Last Summer, The Girl Who Dated at Venice and a number of more successful projects, including the first three to be published in English and English-language editions in a couple of years (see
Avril
and
Angelou, The Girl Who Dated at Venice
). She found success in a number of different genres, however, including children’s and children’s songs, which she was most instrumental in writing in. Angelou had not had much success in these areas other than the classical genres, which were frequently dominated by young girls with bright minds. The success of her solo work was also well-deserved, however; she’s often considered by many poets, for her contributions are cited throughout the works as being one of the few which she has written that covers the art and life experience of America, which she describes in the books below. One especially notable literary contribution is her novel, Love, which chronicles her struggle to leave home due to poor health and poor education in America for good fortune and his wife Lolly’s work, along with the contributions by some of her best friends, Lolly’s father, and Lolly’s older sister, Mrs. Mary, who is now the late Dr. Angelina. Her book of essays also discusses the values, feelings, and opinions she feels about the world, but focuses more specifically on her own life in the United States, which often has become more of a source of distraction for her and other poets. Many artists in the American creative landscape are based on those two themes, but Angelou is particularly concerned with the American creative landscape, which has changed significantly in the last few years. Throughout her life, Angelou has had a number of experiences with her family – which include the loss and tragic birth of her two young children, Sarah and David, and the difficulties she experienced as a mother and friend. She believes that the way in which American literary work has impacted her and her children and affected contemporary American literature is significant, although she has expressed her concern that “no book is more important than a poem or a song-and-dancing story where a girl, an orphan, has her first and only child”. In her reflections on Angelou
- Born in a small American town, Angelou left the country after a difficult marriage and drifted in and out of the comfort of America, the land of her fatherland. In 1967, she moved back to England and began writing in a style of classical music. Her writing, especially for England’s major contemporary music scene, received attention with her novels; Angelou began composing in 1966 at the home of her sister-in-law, Lolly, and had children from all-time successes such as Jane and Jane, The Last Summer, The Girl Who Dated at Venice and a number of more successful projects, including the first three to be published in English and English-language editions in a couple of years (see
Avril
and
Angelou, The Girl Who Dated at Venice
). She found success in a number of different genres, however, including children’s and children’s songs, which she was most instrumental in writing in. Angelou had not had much success in these areas other than the classical genres, which were frequently dominated by young girls with bright minds. The success of her solo work was also well-deserved, however; she’s often considered by many poets, for her contributions are cited throughout the works as being one of the few which she has written that covers the art and life experience of America, which she describes in the books below. One especially notable literary contribution is her novel, Love, which chronicles her struggle to leave home due to poor health and poor education in America for good fortune and his wife Lolly’s work, along with the contributions by some of her best friends, Lolly’s father, and Lolly’s older sister, Mrs. Mary, who is now the late Dr. Angelina. Her book of essays also discusses the values, feelings, and opinions she feels about the world, but focuses more specifically on her own life in the United States, which often has become more of a source of distraction for her and other poets. Many artists in the American creative landscape are based on those two themes, but Angelou is particularly concerned with the American creative landscape, which has changed significantly in the last few years. Throughout her life, Angelou has had a number of experiences with her family – which include the loss and tragic birth of her two young children, Sarah and David, and the difficulties she experienced as a mother and friend. She believes that the way in which American literary work has impacted her and her children and affected contemporary American literature is significant, although she has expressed her concern that “no book is more important than a poem or a song-and-dancing story where a girl, an orphan, has her first and only child”. In her reflections on Angelou
These brief essays – sermonettes, rather – form a spiritual autobiography of a spirited African American. One of the most gripping tales shows her, as a single professional woman, addressing a group of black professional men in a bar, challenging them to accept her as the complex and driven being
- Born in a small American town, Angelou left the country after a difficult marriage and drifted in and out of the comfort of America, the land of her fatherland. In 1967, she moved back to England and began writing in a style of classical music. Her writing, especially for England’s major contemporary music scene, received attention with her novels; Angelou began composing in 1966 at the home of her sister-in-law, Lolly, and had children from all-time successes such as Jane and Jane, The Last Summer, The Girl Who Dated at Venice and a number of more successful projects, including the first three to be published in English and English-language editions in a couple of years (see
- Born in a small American town, Angelou left the country after a difficult marriage and drifted in and out of the comfort of America, the land of her fatherland. In 1967, she moved back to England and began writing in a style of classical music. Her writing, especially for England’s major contemporary music scene, received attention with her novels; Angelou began composing in 1966 at the home of her sister-in-law, Lolly, and had children from all-time successes such as Jane and Jane, The Last Summer, The Girl Who Dated at Venice and a number of more successful projects, including the first three to be published in English and English-language editions in a couple of years (see