Maya+song+Flung

=//** Maya Angelou  **//=

//** A Song Flung Up To Heaven **//

Born **//Margurite Ann Johnson//** on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis Missouri,Maya Angelou is a bold ompinionated women that always has something to say and is never afraid to say it out loud. She is the mother of Claude"Guy" Johnson, and the sister of Bailey Angelou. Angelou had a rough childhood,and would spend most of her early years mentally isolated from scoiety. Angelou is recognized for many professions such as, a dancer, actress, journalist, educator, television producer, film director, and poet.She was also active in the civil rights movement, and served to be a mjaor impact to the actions of Martin Luther King Jr. She is known best for her series or autobiographical volumes, along with her works of poetry. She has become one of the most highly respected African American Women of her time and era.

**// __Quotes from: A song Flung Up To Heaven__

“I didn’t have to ask I knew “the man in New York” was Malcolm X and that someone had just killed him” (26) //** Maya Angelou had just found out that Malcolm X had been assassinated. Maya Angelou had left a life in Africa in order to be by Malcolm’s side and work with him in the fight against African American rights, now that the only reason of her returning to the United States is gone, Angelou falls in a bad predicament. She is devastated by the loss and is now living in America without a purpose.  Nightclub singing became one of Angelou’s early professions. People became intrigued in listening to Angelou’s style of singing, admiring her style of singing calypso songs in a pseudo African accent. Although it consumed most of her time at night, it gave her a chance to get away, and to forget about the many disappointments, and struggles that life was throwing at her. It was where she could go, and forget about the shame of losing her husband, to forget about the horror of Malcolm X’s death, to forget about the fear of abandoning her son in a time where he needed her most. The excitement of the club and thrill of performing in front of a large audience erased away the memories of her past, and relieved the pain of the present for the time being.   **//“The uproar in watts taught me something I had not known. Odour travels faster and farther than sound” (66)//** There had been a massive riot in Watts; the people of the Watts neighbourhood were fed up with their living conditions. They ultimately felt as though society was exploiting them, taking their hard earn money, and pushing them around. There was burning of houses, and destruction of stores and supermarkets. What shocked Maya Angelou the most was that this was not an act to blame on a group of trespassers; the people of Watts were destroying their own neighbourhood. While Angelou’s was visiting the area, she recalled that the thickness of smoke in the air, and the odour of burning wood would almost be unberable. Watts was in total confusion and chaos, and the odour of burning lives would spread as fast and far as it possibly could, and eventually it would hit important noses. The voices of the Watts neighbourhood would be heard, and there would be changes that would change the lives of many living in that era.   
 * //“ There is a reliable verity in assurance that once one has learned to ride a bicycle, the knowledge never disappears. I could add this is also true for nightclub singing” (42) //**

My Angelou met a fiery group of people one night at a Side Cafe and Bar, all had lively personalities, especially a guy name Phil. Phil had warn Angelou of his character and recklessness, but Angelou paid him no attention, thinking she had already known what type of a guy Phil already was. She would later find out that you can't entirely judge a book by its cover. One night while the group was out joy riding, Phil proved to Maya that he wasn’t playing around, putting her in a life or death situation. This event would ultimately change Angelou’s views towards people beliefs and opinions.   This phrase represents the night Martin Luther King Jr. was shot, and the impact it had on Maya Angelou. Angelou was still suffering from the death of Malcolm X, the news that another soldier for African American Rights had falling deeply moved Angelou, and made her life seem even more like a chimera. However this event, made her realize something, that society still has a heart for the ones most meaningful to it. While at Harlem, Angelou witnessed the distress the event it had on the people.
 * //I remembered Phils self-discription when I first met him, and I realized that I had learned at least one important lesson. Believe people when they tell you who they are, They know themselves better than you. (94)//**
 * //“Some words are spoken and not heard. Because the ears cannot accept them, the eye seems to see them. I saw the letters DEAD” (189)//**

Maya Angelou had just received an opportunity to work on a series programs that would enable her to express the culture of African Americans. This was an opportunity of a life time. Things were turning out good for Angelou. Maya Angelou would be able to work on projects that truly interest her. It would also give her a chance to show the present world of that age, the real side of African American Culture, and its inheritance. 
 * //“It was thrilling to think of returning to San Francisco with something to do and faith that I would do a good job” (205)//**

**//__Work Cited__//**  Angelou Maya "A Song Flung Up To Heaven" Maya Angelou, New York Random House Inc, co 2002 by Maya Angelou "Maya Angelou Global Renaissance Woman" The offical Maya Angelou Website, 20 nov 2009. <[]> Maya Angelou " 2009. Biography.com, 20 nov 2009.<[]> Maya Comes To Town, 800 wi.jpg <[]>, Maya Angelou, image.jpg<[]>, Maya Angelou,image_3.jpg<[]> Maya Angelou, angelou_ maya_images2/49.jpg<[]> Maya Angelou, portrait_hr.jpg<[]> Maya Angelou, image 002.jpg<[]>