Another Wonderful Book

My journey along with Maya Angelou continues. This book is about her struggles while encountering her African roots. Is she African or African American is a huge theme throughout

Maya travels to Africa are preceded by trying to decide between the peaceful philosophies of Dr. Martin Luther King and the confrontational ways of Malcom X. At times her descriptions of her confusing encounters confused me as well.

The writing is descriptive and colorful, especially during the trip to Egypt.

Another winner! I recommend.

It is such a delight getting a glimpse into the eclectic life of Miss Maya Angelou!

This is the 4th book in her autobiography series which began with her famed I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.

In this outing, she is in her early 30s. She meets famous folks such as Billie Holiday (who has a mouth on her and is a bit grumpy) and Bayard Rustin (civil rights leader, LGBTQ).

Maya works for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference for a time, helping to raise money for MLK and civil rights. She then meets South African activist Vusumzi Make and marries him. He's a bit overbearing and wants a woman to stay in her rightful place. It's a disheartening to see Maya so submissive and dimming her internal light - but there are still sparks of it there.

My favorite part of the memoir is when Maya's teenage son Guy is threatened by gang members in NYC. A young lady was interested in Guy but he did not reciprocate. She then decided to tell her BOYFRIEND, a leader of a gang, that Guy was coming on to her. Maya is highly concerned! She gets a handgun and goes to visit this woman's grandma. She asks to speak with her and the boyfriend. She then shows this dude the gun and threatens to kill the grandma, the girlfriend, and everyone else if anything happens to Guy.

It was insane, and I loved every bit of crazy Maya. No one gets between a lioness and her cub!

I look forward to continuing this journey through her life.

Maya Angelou thinks Maya Angelou is wonderful

The fourth volume of Maya Angelou's autobiography covers about a decade, starting from 1957. It was a tumultuous period, for her and for America. She recounts her move to New York and involvement in the civil rights struggle, including working with Martin Luther King Jr. Her account of the struggle against racism in the US is electrifying and moving. The narrative is compelling on both on a personal and a historical level. Angelou has a distinctive and powerful voice in her writing, conveying the emotion and the specifics of events very effectively.

Over the years covered by The Heart of a Woman, Angelou's romantic life repeatedly tangled with her political life. She had two serious relationships and in both cases the man would not let her have the level of freedom (to work, in particular) that she wanted. Thus her writing reflects on the intersections of racism and sexism that she experienced. She moved countries several times for the sake of a relationship, living for quite a while in Egypt.

One part that really struck me was her experience in the cast of a Jean Genet play titled 'The Blacks', which bleakly parodied racism. Angelou initially disliked it for its message that if given power over whites, black people would just as cruel as white people have been. She then decided to act in it nonetheless:

Genet had been right at least about one thing. Blacks should be used to play whites. For centuries we had probed their faces, the angles of their bodies, the sounds of their voices and even their odours. Often our survival had depended upon an accurate reading of a white man's chuckle or the distainful wave of a white woman's hand. Whites, on the other hand, always knew that no serious penalty threatened them if they misunderstood blacks. Whites were safely isolated from our concerns. When they chose, they could lift the racial curtain which separated us. They could indulge in sexual escapades, increase our families with mulatto bastards, make fortunes out of our music and eunuchs out of our men, then in seconds they could step away, and return unscarred to their pristine security. The cliche of whites being ignorant of blacks was not only true, but understandable. Oh, but we knew them with the intimacy of a surgeon's scalpel.

I dressed myself in the hated gestures and made the White Queen gaze down in loathing at the rotten stinking stupid blacks who, though innocent, like beasts were loathsome nonetheless.

She was surprised and puzzled by the positive audience reaction to the play, after expecting that white people would not want to watch it. A month into the play's run, she got an understanding of why they did when a white woman came up to her after the performance crying:

"I just wanted you to know... I just wanted to say that I've seen the play five times." She waited.
"Five times? We've only been playing four weeks."
"Yes, but a lot of my friends..." - now she was in control of herself again - "a lot of us have seen the play more than once. A woman in my building comes twice a week."
"Why? Why do you come back?"
"Well," - she drew herself up - "well, we support you. I mean, we understand what you are saying."
The blur of noise drifted around us, but we were an isolated inset, a picture of American society. White and black talking at each other.
"How many blacks live in your building?"
"Why, none. But that doesn't mean..."
"How many black friends do you have? I mean, not counting your maid?"
"Oh," she took a couple of steps backward. "You're trying to insult me."
I followed her. "You can accept the insults if I am a character on stage, but not in person, is that it?"
She looked at me with enough hate to shrivel my heart. I put my hand out.
"Don't touch me." Her voice was so sharp it caught the attention of some bystanders. Roscoe appeared abruptly. Still in character, giving a little bow, "Hello, Queen."
The woman turned to leave, but I caught her sleeve. "Would you take me home with you? Would you become my friend?"
She snatched her arm away, and spat out, "You people. You people." And walked away.
Roscoe asked, "And pray, what was that?"
"She's one of our fans. She comes to the theatre and allows us to curse and berate her, and that's her contrbution to our struggle."
Roscoe shook his head slowly. "Oh dear. One of those."
The subject was closed.

That short incident conveys so much. I continue to be deeply impressed at the quality of Angelou's memory and the vividness of her writing. This is a particularly striking volume of her autobiography, with many memorable sequences and a dramatic ending.

Maya's development feels entirely incomplete, and she comes off as rather spoiled and self-satisfied. Perhaps I need to read all of her memoirs to understand her growth, but as a stand-alone book I was disappointed.

Maya Angelou was wild, huh? I didn’t realize this was a four-parter in her autobiographical series. I picked up this book because it was on a list of travel books by Black women; it was NOT a travel book. Once I got over the disappointment of that, I enjoyed it. I like the way she puts words together. Her whole marriage was trip, though. I guess that’s how it is with us: we stay putting up with stuff that we have no business putting up with because of some social need to be “a good woman.” Bump dat!

This is the fourth in the series of autobiographies by Maya Angelou, one time stripper, dancer, singer, actress and letterly American poet laureate. I have read the first three and look forward to reading the fifth and final episode. Angelou is frank about her mistakes and her successes and how she rose from being a child brought up in the American south during the days when black people and white people lived entirely separate lives. In this volume, she has started to find her feet as a writer and also becomes involved in the fight for racial equality in the 1960s.

This was so beautifully written and Maya has a wildly entertaining life. I also think it’s a good lesson in trying new things and meeting new people. So many times she thinks that certain people are or lifestyles are perfect for her and then she grows out of them.

3.75 rounded up

This was a buddy read that introduced me to Maya Angelou; a name I'd heard most of my life, but one I knew little of. It was interesting to find out a bit of what this woman was about, and to learn she lived a varied life with her fingers in lots of different vocations. While this memoir covers only a small segment of what she lived, it did provide a glimpse into who she was, how she lived and what influenced her.

Clearly, she was an intelligent and resourceful woman who cared deeply about the world around her. It was interesting to read of the challenges she faced as a single parent in an unkind and often dangerous world. The life events that pushed her one direction or another in living situations or job opportunities made me realize what a small life I've lived in comparison. Sometimes it seemed like someone shook her life like a snow globe to see where she would land next; but she always seemed to land on her feet, through the grace of good fortune and kind hearts.

In my uninformed assumptions I'd formed a mental image of who she was and what she might have to say and found myself squirming at times as she educated me to her own realities, particularly around the racial tensions being lived at the time. I was also surprised by decisions that appeared impetuous to my own carefully considered style. She was much more willing to jump into the unknown than I'll ever be, which likely gave her a richer tapestry to experience and look back on.

Thanks C, K and D for the interesting discussion. I do wonder how her later years and additional experiences might have continued to mold her thoughts on the world around her.

I really didn't like this book, which surprised me since I remember really liking "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." Her life is interesting, no doubt, but I found the book to be trite, unnatural and self-indulgent. The dialogue and general intereactions between characters was not convincing, which I find disturbing considering that this is not a work of fiction.

Loved reading more about her son Guy. This series of memoirs should really be read in order- start with I Know Why the Cashed Bird Sings. Angelou lived an incredible life and I'm so glad she documented it.

This and more @ The Local Muse:
This is the forth book in Angelou's memoir series and takes place in 1960s. Angelou writes about her involvement in the American Civil Rights Movement as well as her time living in South Africa as the wife of a South American Civil Rights leader.

I love Maya Angelou; she's one of my heroes and all-time favorite poets. I am loving her memoirs; she was such an incredible woman. I haven't reviewed all of the memoirs I have read so far on the blog, but I have enjoyed each one. This was one of my favorites, along with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. I love how frankly Angelou discusses her romantic relationships and sex in her memoirs, and this one was no different. I really enjoyed reading Angelou's account of her relationship with Make, the South African Civil Rights leader. They had an intense relationship for many reasons, and Angelou writes about it with heart, clarity, and compassion.

I also loved hearing about her efforts in the Civil Rights Movements of two different countries on two different continents. She was such a smart and brave woman, and I love her activism and insights. These novels trace the changing relationship between Angelou and her son Guy, which is great as well. I have loved seeing him grow up and seeing how she has raised him with love and respectful space.

Angelou's writing is captivating, and you feel like she is speaking directly to you while you read these memoirs. This one had a hilarious moment in it, that had me laughing for days afterwards whenever I thought about it. I loved the humor and bravery the moment showed and the way Angelou wrote it.

If you haven't read her memoirs yet, I can not recommend them enough.