Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes, pillars of society

Neither Langston Hughes nor Maya Angelou were just poets in the world of the twentieth century but instead heroes and leaders who showed the world that race wasn t what made you but whom you are instead. Though both grew up during times and events in the world, both have similar ideas while also different. Though both poets were put down by society, neither let what people said get to them. Both instead wrote poems about how what people say doesn t matter. Maya told those people that despite what you say, I will still rise. You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I ll rise. You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill†¦show more content†¦Despite his own very liberal beliefs, Hughes defended African American activists who held more conservative views. Langston Hughes was not just a poet but an artist, who used words to express himself, but other forms of art influenced him, and his work crossed over into other mediums. Langston Hughes influenced many other people with his art -- young writers and artists looked up to him. African Americans found in him a voice for their own experiences and culture -- a voice that hadn t been heard until Langston Hughes. He inspired many other artists of all races to write, draw, play, and sing. Unlike Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou devoted her life to inspiring African Americans to do whatever they wanted to do no matter what other people said. She also wanted to inspire people. Her poems Phenomenal Woman and Still I Rise inspired not only the African American people, which is was intended to, but the whole world including men. Like Hughes, Maya Angelou did not think that one day she would be reading one of her poems at President Clinton s inauguration. But she did think that she would inspire young African American writers that they too could become wonderful writers in a white society. Angelou is hailed as one of the great voices of contemporary black literature and as a remarkable Renaissance woman. Both of these people have inspired many people in the world including me. Langston Hughes