Transcending Black Aesthetics: A Panoramic Perception of Select Poems of Maya Angelou

Abstract : African American Literature has emerged as a formidable body of writing today. It was ignited by a young slave girl Phillis Wheatley, nurtured by nationalist writers like Langston Hughes, Amiri Baraka, and others, was taken to its pinnacle by Maya Angelou who has turned into an icon of America. A multi-faceted writer, Angelou has to her credit seven autobiographies, ten collections of poems, three collections of essays, a covetable list of movies and television shows spanning over 50 years. Harlem Renaissance and Black Aesthetic Movement played a vital role in the affirmation of black identity. Like all other black writers Maya Angelou also begins her poetic career with protest writing, recording her righteous anger against racial discrimination and the adversities of white domination in the American society. However, as she evolved as a human and a poet, she expanded her vision beyond the barriers of black and white and started envisioning a bright and peaceful world for the entire human race. This paper attempts to trace the evolution of Maya Angelou as a poet and read how she transcends Black Aesthetics and becomes a magnificent Black teaching Aesthetics to humanity.