Congratulations to locally born, Dr. Marguerite Annie Johnson who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Early on she was married to Thomas Enistasious, a Greek. Her brother called her Maya when he was small, and her name evolved from Maya Angelos, to a world-wide recognizable name of Maya Angelou.
I admire her honesty, her writing style, her poetry, her self-expression in the form of song, dance, the written and spoken word. She is my literary hero.
I love words. I like to roll them around in my head, play with syllables and let them roll off my tongue. When I find the perfect phrase it makes my brain spark, makes me envious of the author, and it makes me try that much harder. I have realized, no matter how creative my mind, how I marry words, I will never be a Maya Angelou.
I am reading her book, Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas.
I want to be able to do this like Maya Angelou:
"...the frenetic drummer who pushed his words over and around a wad of chewing gum..."
instead of this, "When he spoke he chomped his gum."
Who is your literary hero?
9 comments:
Oh, I love Miss Maya...I made her name a seventh grade spelling word the years we read her work. I have a poem she printed and signed for me framed and hanging on my wall. She is wonderful!!!!
I'm a fan as well! I love her poem, "Phenomenal Woman". Hey, B/T/W/ I thought I was your literary heroe? :-)
P.S. Congrats on the increased followers!
ooooo, that's a tough one, Linda. I love so many writers. I have to admit, though, Gladys Taber is one of my all time favorites. She's no longer around, of course, but I can re-read her books over and over again and the writing always touches my heart. One of the most well known is "Stillmeadow." Are you familiar with her? Susan
I didn't know how her name had evolved...interesting! Do have some of her quotes that I love. Another writer who never ceases to inspire me is Ray Bradbury. People think he writes science fiction, but at his soul, he's a poet. Nice post!
So many writers are awe-inspiring. If I had to pick one at this minute, I'd choose Harper Lee.
"Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to wet slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square. Somehow, it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summer's day; bony mules hitched to Hoover carts flicked flies in the sweltering shade of the live oaks on the square. Men's stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon, after their three o'clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum."
What a wordsmith! How quickly she gives us a telling image of summer in a small southern town, the perfect setting for the story she is about to weave.
Claudia,
Wow! An autograph. I would frame it too.
Jennifer,
Girlfriend, I put you right up there with the top notch women.
Susan, NO I haven't read Gladys Taber, but I will have to now that you mention her.
Tammy,
I have heard that about Ray Bradbury.
Pat,
I love the way Harper Lee writes. Your paragraph is like a painting.
Maya Angelou...Langston Hughes...Nikki Grimes...Mary Oliver....Isaac Asimov...Emily Dickinson...
That's a tough question! We love so many different foods, different kinds of music. It's impossible for me to just choose one.
Maya Angelou is certianly up there. Several years ago she came to speak at the University of Portland's Chile's Center. (I'm not sure of the capacity, but it must be thousands.) The place was full to the rafters and she kept us all spell-bound!
Thanks for following my blog. I am enjoying reading yours.
Michael
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