Phenomenal Woman- Maya Angelou (Women's History Month)

By Jade Henry
FWIS Youth Writer

African American memoirist, well-known poet, and civil rights activist was Ms. Maya Angelou. She is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning more than 50 years in addition to seven autobiographies, three books of essays, and several books of poetry.

Ms. Maya Angelou was most famous for her unique writing style. Her most well-known quote is “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” To me it means when you make a mistake, but you don't understand what caused it to happen, you do the best you can to resolve it. Then when you know the cause of your mistake, you can learn from it and make improvements in the future to prevent it from recurring because when you KNOW better, you DO better. What does that quote mean to you?

Just like Ms. Maya Angelou, I also enjoy writing poetry in my spare time. One of the reasons why I enjoy writing poetry is that it helps me relax and it gives me an opportunity to express myself on paper in a calm and effective way. I feel as if it is my comfort zone because no one is there to judge me, and I am the only one critiquing my work. This is how I release my emotions as opposed to bottling them up and never letting them go.

My favorite poem written by Ms. Maya Angelou is “Phenomenal Woman.”  I love this poem because it shows that she is confident and poised despite what anyone thinks of her. I also love her choice of words and how everything flows together in this poem. Below is the first stanza of the poem, “Phenomenal Woman.”

“Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.

I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size   

But when I start to tell them,

They think I’m telling lies.

I say,

It’s in the reach of my arms,

The span of my hips,   

The stride of my step,   

The curl of my lips.   

I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,   

That’s me.” - Maya Angelou.

I believe this ties in perfectly with Women's History Month because Maya Angelou is truly a phenomenal woman, and so are you.  Happy Women’s History Month to all of the women making an impact in our lives.