WEBVTT - How Did Maya Angelou Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey Brainstuff. Lauren

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<v Speaker 1>Vogelbaum here, writer, activist, entertainer, and teacher. Maya Angelou was

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<v Speaker 1>a beloved artist and household name, a rarity for an

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<v Speaker 1>African American woman who confronted controversial topics in public. She

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<v Speaker 1>spoke openly about race, violence, gender, and Black history in

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<v Speaker 1>her memoirs, poems, and speeches. Angelou is perhaps best known

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<v Speaker 1>for her nineteen sixty nine memoir I Know Why the

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<v Speaker 1>Caged Bird Sings, which recounts her childhood in Stance, Arkansas,

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<v Speaker 1>and San Francisco, dealing with themes of racism, identity, and

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<v Speaker 1>sexual violence. The book won the hearts of literary critics

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<v Speaker 1>and everyday readers alike, and has been reprinted numerous times,

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<v Speaker 1>yet it's often banned from schools for its depictions of

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<v Speaker 1>sexual assault and supposed anti white messaging. The success of

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<v Speaker 1>that first memoir spurred Angelou to write six more autobiographical books,

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<v Speaker 1>in addition to three books of essays, several books of poetry,

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<v Speaker 1>plus plays, screenplays, and even two cookbooks. She earned dozens

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<v Speaker 1>of honorary degrees, a Presidential Medal of Freedom, and a

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<v Speaker 1>legacy that's endured via class curricula, contemporary black feminist writers,

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<v Speaker 1>and even internet memes. Angelou's words are so resonant that

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<v Speaker 1>you can't throw a stone in US media without hitting

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<v Speaker 1>one of the late author's quotes. For the article, this

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<v Speaker 1>episode is based on How Stuff Works. Spoke with doctor

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<v Speaker 1>Linda Wagner Martin, author of the books Maya Angelou, Adventurous

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<v Speaker 1>Spirit and the Life of the author Maya Angelou. She

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<v Speaker 1>noted that even Judge Katanji Brown Jackson quoted Angelou at

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<v Speaker 1>the White House after her Supreme Court confirmation in twenty

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<v Speaker 1>twenty two. Jackson said, I am the dream and the

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<v Speaker 1>hope of the slave a, referencing a line in Angelou's

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<v Speaker 1>poem Still I Rise. A. Wagner Martin said, Maya Angelou

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<v Speaker 1>reminds us all of our better selves. Today, Let's delve

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<v Speaker 1>deeper into the life of this renowned author, using quotes

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<v Speaker 1>from Maya Angelou herself. We'll start with one that really

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<v Speaker 1>resonates with me. Believe people when they tell you who

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<v Speaker 1>they are, they know themselves better than you. This line

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<v Speaker 1>appeared in Angelou's sixth memoir, A Song Flung Up to Heaven,

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<v Speaker 1>which chronicles her life between nineteen sixty five and nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>sixty eight. In context, Angelou was referencing a man named

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<v Speaker 1>Phil who told her that he was ornery and a

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<v Speaker 1>liar when they first met. Weeks later, he purposefully stopped

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<v Speaker 1>on railroad tracks while Angelou was in his car, taking

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<v Speaker 1>off just in time to narrowly miss being hit by

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<v Speaker 1>an approaching train. The incident scared Angelou deeply and convinced

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<v Speaker 1>her that he was indeed as ornery as he had

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<v Speaker 1>proclaimed himself. But according to Wagner Martin, this was a

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<v Speaker 1>life lesson that likely reared its head many times over

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<v Speaker 1>the course of her life, especially given all the jobs

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<v Speaker 1>Angelou worked to support herself and her son, including fry cook,

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<v Speaker 1>streetcar conductor, sex worker, and nightclub singer. Wagner Martin said

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<v Speaker 1>people took advantage of her in the usual ways, so

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<v Speaker 1>she had learned to be suspicious of motives. By the

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<v Speaker 1>time she became the impressive public speaker that people remember,

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<v Speaker 1>she had lived through decades of penury, decades of various betrayals.

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<v Speaker 1>She knew how unkind people could be, but her message

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<v Speaker 1>in her dynamic lectures remained positive. The quote is sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>rephrased as when people show you who they are, believe them,

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<v Speaker 1>and Oprah Winfrey added her own twist on this. Winfrey

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<v Speaker 1>considered Angelou a close friend and mentor, and in a

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen ninety seven episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Winfrey

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<v Speaker 1>recalled discussing with Angelou a boyfriend who continuously stood her up.

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<v Speaker 1>Angelou reminded her of the life lesson and asked her

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<v Speaker 1>why she did didn't get it the first time he

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<v Speaker 1>showed he was unreliable, so Winfrey said, her adjunct to

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<v Speaker 1>Angelou's quote is when people show you who they are,

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<v Speaker 1>believe them the first time. Next up, let's consider a

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<v Speaker 1>line from one of Angelou's most popular poems, Still I Rise.

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<v Speaker 1>It goes you may shoot me with your words, you

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<v Speaker 1>may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me

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<v Speaker 1>with your hatefulness, But still like air all Rise. Angelou

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<v Speaker 1>was no stranger to adversity. She didn't speak at all

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<v Speaker 1>for several years after being sexually assaulted as a child.

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<v Speaker 1>She was profoundly devastated by the assassinations of Martin Luther

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<v Speaker 1>King Junior, and Malcolm x As. She had worked with

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<v Speaker 1>King and been friends with Malcolm, and she struggled with

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<v Speaker 1>romance and money yet her story is not mired in tragedy.

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<v Speaker 1>Before becoming a memoirist, Angelou was a poet. Still I

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<v Speaker 1>Rise addresses her personal difficulties and the collective hardships of

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<v Speaker 1>black people, responding to them with hope and perseverance. In

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<v Speaker 1>the poem, she acknowledged the hard truths of history while

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<v Speaker 1>envisioning a bright future. Wagner Martin said her poems, particularly

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<v Speaker 1>the early ones, grew from songs that she had written

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<v Speaker 1>while she was a dancer, singer, and actress. Angelou drew

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<v Speaker 1>from not only American music, but African, from free forms

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<v Speaker 1>that were universal, and she emphasized the sounds her poems created.

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<v Speaker 1>In these longer poems, she's speaking for so much human consciousness,

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<v Speaker 1>such broad sympathy, that her personal words reach into other

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<v Speaker 1>people's lives, something like an anthem might. In a musical

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<v Speaker 1>program at church. In nineteen ninety three, Angelou became the

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<v Speaker 1>second person ever to read a poem at a US

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<v Speaker 1>presidential inauguration of Bill Clinton's first term. For the occasion,

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<v Speaker 1>she composed and read on the Pulse of Mourning, in

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<v Speaker 1>which these lines appear. History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot

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<v Speaker 1>be unlived, but if faced with courage need not be

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<v Speaker 1>lived again. The poem was tuned to the inaugural spirit

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<v Speaker 1>of national renewal and hope, but it was still completely Angelou.

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<v Speaker 1>It highlighted themes of unity, optimism, and courage that she

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<v Speaker 1>often imbued in her literature. While the poem itself wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>a fan favorite, and people praised her performance of the

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<v Speaker 1>poem and the inspiration it provided. By this time, Angelou

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<v Speaker 1>was well established as an advocate for social change and

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<v Speaker 1>a celebrity artist. Her recording of the poem won a

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<v Speaker 1>Grammy for Best Spoken Word or Non Musical Album in

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen ninety four, and sales of her other works increased

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<v Speaker 1>in the wake of the inauguration. Then there's this lovely quote,

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<v Speaker 1>one must nurture the joy in one's life so that

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<v Speaker 1>it reaches full bloom. It was recorded in the book

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<v Speaker 1>In the Cloud The Wisdom and Spirit of Maya Angelou,

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<v Speaker 1>a tribute collection of Angelou's writing published after her death

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<v Speaker 1>in twenty fourteen. When it came to living a full life,

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<v Speaker 1>Angelou led by example. In an interview with Angelou, a

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<v Speaker 1>journalist Bill Moyers emphasized that she had done almost anything

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<v Speaker 1>she wanted to and asked her about the price she'd

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<v Speaker 1>paid for that freedom. Her response was, you are only

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<v Speaker 1>free when you realize you belong no place. You belong

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<v Speaker 1>every place, no place at all. Wagner Martin said, to

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<v Speaker 1>read through Maya Angelou's various poem collections is to see

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<v Speaker 1>her development not only as a poet, but as a

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<v Speaker 1>human being. In the above quote, Angelou made it clear

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<v Speaker 1>that cultivating joy is integral to a person's happiness. She

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<v Speaker 1>also once said, be a rainbow in somebody else's cloud.

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<v Speaker 1>I've had so many rainbows in my clouds. But she

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<v Speaker 1>had no problem putting someone out of whatever place she

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<v Speaker 1>inhabited for making a racist or homophobic joke or comment.

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<v Speaker 1>In another interview with Winfrey, Angelou said, I believe that

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<v Speaker 1>a negative statement is poison, and if you allow it

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<v Speaker 1>to perch in your house, in your mind, in your life,

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<v Speaker 1>it can take you over. Wagner Martin said she created

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<v Speaker 1>these maxims or sayings that acknowledged the widely based life

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<v Speaker 1>she had lived, but she did not dwell on humanity's evils.

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<v Speaker 1>We'll leave you with one last quote from Angelou. This

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<v Speaker 1>one actually came from the greeting card line she created

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<v Speaker 1>with hallmark of all things it goes. A wise woman

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<v Speaker 1>wishes to be no one's enemy. A wise woman refuses

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<v Speaker 1>to be anyone's victim. Today's episode is based on the

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<v Speaker 1>article five Eloquent and Enduring Maya Angelou quotes House with

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<v Speaker 1>Works dot Com, written by Eves Jeffcote. Brain Stuff is

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<v Speaker 1>production of iHeartRadio in partnership with HowStuffWorks dot Com and

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<v Speaker 1>is produced by Tyler Plain. Four More podcasts from my

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