After five years of being apart from their mother, Marguerite and her brother, Bailey, were sent back to Saint-Louis to be with their mother. This move would change Angelou's life dramatically. While living in Saint Louis, she was raped by her mothers’ boyfriend. After which she confided in her brother what had happened, and soon the person was found dead. Young Marguerite believed her voice had killed him this caused her to become mute for nearly five years. Her dysfunctional childhood spent moving back and forth between her mother and grandmother caused her to struggle with maturity. She became determined to prove she was a woman and began to rush

Angelou’s first work of literature, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was the first book by an African American woman to storm best-seller lists”(Essence). This autobiography was written with the inspiration of her disrupted life. Many say it reflects the pain of her struggle to overcome restrictions that were placed in her environment.

Her most well known poem “Phenomenal Woman” contains many of her strengths and weaknesses. As noted in the Virginia Quarterly Review, “Its theme--power and depth of women—echoes her own personal history as recounted in the same striking I know why the caged bird sings.” “Its refrain –“I’m a woman / Phenomenally. / Phenomenal Woman, / That’s me,” is made for Angelou’s richly textured, dramatic voice” (Virginia Quarterly Review). As Felice Aull states, “in four stanzas, the poet reveals her self-confidence, her graceful rhythm and style, and the inner strength of her femininity” (Aull). Maya Angelou defines phenomenal as “outstanding, and excellent” (Angelou).

Now 72, Angelou is the author of many books and novels, including And Still I Rise, and The Heart of a Woman, and I Shall Not Be Moved. (Essence 174) As a member of several college advisory boards, and after thousands of appearances and lectures, Dr. Maya Angelou’s words continue to move people to tears, laughter, and contemplation. Though most people would disagree, she believes her life has not changed since she was a child. “I am a still that girl in Stamps, Arkansas. A part of me is still that girl,” said Angelou. Readers however believe, much has changed in 63 years. She has risen above her dysfunctional childhood and become one of the most sought after poets and lecturers in the country.

Angelou is probably the most widely recognized figure of a poet in contemporary U.S. culture. Her work is found

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