Raven and Hilary

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. 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. 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.

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. 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. 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 free bird thinks of another breeze And the trade winds soft through The sighing trees And the fat worms waiting on a dawn- bright Lawn and he names the sky his own. 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

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. 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.

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. 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.

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?

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