Maya Angelou's autobiographies present a dislocated self image, one which becomes new and assertive as she transcends the singular self through a wide and compassionate direct assertion of her statements against political injustice. Her love poetry—suggests her relationship to a world which can be stultifying, mystifying and oppressive, but one she will not allow to become these things and overwhelm her. The voyage through her life has not been filled with soft and pliable steps each opening into another opportunity for self acceptance and yet she has filled that voyage with fantasy, song, hope and the redefinition of her worlds view through art.
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References
1.
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2.
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3.
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AngelouM., And Still I Rise, Random House, New York, 1978.
16.
AngelouM., Gather Together in My Name, Bantam Books, New York, 1974.
17.
AngelouM., I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Random House, New York, 1970.
18.
AngelouM., Just Give Me A Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Die, Random House, New York, 1971.
19.
AngelouM., Oh Pray My Wings are Gonna Fit Me Well, Bantam Books, New York, 1975.
20.
AngelouM., Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas, Harper and Row, New York, 1976.
21.
AngelouM., The Heart of a Woman, Random House, New York, 1982.
22.
ArensbergL., Death as a Metaphor of Self, in “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,”Journal of the College Language Association, 20, 1976.
23.
BurgherM., Images of Self and Race in Autobiographies of Black Women, in Sturdy Black Bridges: Visions of Black Women in Literature, BellP.ParkerB. J., and Guy-ShefftallB. (eds.), Anchor Books, New York, 1979.
24.
EriksonE., Identity, Youth and Crisis, W. W. Norton, New York, 1968.
25.
GoodmanG.Jr., Maya Angelou's Lonely Black Outlook, The New York Times, p. 28, March 24, 1972.
26.
SheffeyR., Rhetorical Structures in Contemporary Afro-American Poetry, College Language Association Journal, XXIV: 1, 1980.
27.
SmithS., The Song of the Caged Bird: Maya Angelou's Quest after Self-Acceptance, Southern Humanities Review, 7, pp. 365–375, Fall 1973.
