Maya Angelou Comprehension Questions

1. What was Angelou’s real first name, and why was she called Maya instead?


2. What terrible event happened to Angelou when she was eight?



3. What jobs did Angelou have while trying to support her son as a single-mother?


4. What happened to Angelou in 1951?



5. How many languages could Angelou speak and what were they?


6. What was the title of Angelou’s first book and what was it about?


7. How was Angelou recognised for her writing?



8. Who was Angelou’s second husband?



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 Maya Angelou Comprehension Questions

9. Which three celebrated American civil rights activists were friends with Angelou?


10. Name three films Angelou either acted in or directed.



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Maya Angelou Comprehension Question
Answers
1. What was Angelou’s real first name, and why was she called Maya instead?
Her real first name was Marguerite, but her older brother Bailey called her Maya,
derived from ‘my-a sister’.
2. What terrible event happened to Angelou when she was eight?
She was abused by her mother’s boyfriend, who was subsequently jailed for just
one day. When he was released, he was murdered. The shock meant that Angelou
became mute for five years.
3. What jobs did Angelou have while trying to support her son as a single-mother?
She worked in a fast food restaurant, in a mechanic’s shop and as a dancer in a club.
4. What happened to Angelou in 1951?
She married aspiring musician and former sailor Tosh Angelos.
5. How many languages could Angelou speak and what were they?
Six: English, French, Italian, Arabic, Spanish and Fanti (a West African language).
6. What was the title of Angelou’s first book and what was it about?
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: it is the first volume of her autobiography and is
about the poverty and racial inequality of her childhood.
7. How was Angelou recognised for her writing?
In 1993 she was asked to write a poem for Bill Clinton’s presidential inauguration; she
won the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album three times; she was nominated
for a Pulitzer Prize; she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Arts in 2000 and the
Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010; she received over 50 honorary degrees.
8. Who was Angelou’s second husband?
Paul du Feu, a Welsh carpenter, comic strip writer, and the ex-husband of leading
feminist Germaine Greer.
9. Which three celebrated American civil rights activists were friends with Angelou?
Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King
10. Name three films Angelou either acted in or directed.
Poetic Justice (acting); ‘How to Make an American Quilt’ (acting); ‘Down in the Delta’
(directing).