153. MAYA ANGELOU: Phenomenal Woman
Maya Angelou (1928-2014) was a modern day Renaissance woman – author, poet, activist, dancer, singer, director, teacher and hero. After her death last month, I was flooded with submissions from you to adapt one of her poems. I was a bit daunted when choosing which one to adapt since there are so many great poems to choose from which mean so much to so many people. I finally narrowed it down to her most famous three. Still I Rise, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings and Phenomenal Woman. I came up with a few ideas for the first two, but my concepts were a bit serious and melancholy. I wanted to draw a fun and uplifting comic to celebrate Angelou’s incredible life, rather than mourn her passing … so Phenomenal Woman it was!
About the scenes depicted in the comic: I read in a few obituaries that as a girl Angelou was “packed off by her family to California after sassing a white store clerk in Arkansas” which I illustrated as the first scene. In the 1950s Angelou spent many years as a popular calypso dancer. In fact, she changed her name from Marguerite Johnson to Maya Angelou around that time to help draw crowds to her performances. While living in Ghana, Angelou befriended Malcolm X and later supported Martin Luther King Jr and the NAACP during the civil rights struggle. She also called Nelson Mandela a friend, meeting him shortly after his release from prison. Finally, in 1993, Angelou recited her poem On the Pulse of Morning at Bill Clinton’s inauguration.
Visit Maya Angelou’s official website to find out more about this phenomenal woman.
MORE ZEN PENCILS POETRY ADAPTATIONS: Invictus. What Teachers Make. Ithaka. The Winds of Fate. A Bird Came Down the Walk. The Road Not Taken.
RELATED COMIC: The Woman in the Arena by Brené Brown.
– Thanks to everyone who sent me Angelou’s poems.
– I’ve updated last week’s science all-stars poster with five additional scientists, chosen from your suggestions.
Discussion (116) ¬
What a wonderful tribute Gav – thank you!
Excellent, Been waiting so long for this one!
officially one of my favorite zenpencil illustrations. Great job!! (rest in peace to a phenomenal woman).
Don’t know if it’s just me but the picture won’t load on my ipad.
Same for the email newsletter.
It won’t load on my phone in email or safari, either 🙁
Won’t load
I went to Google Chrome, copy and pasted this page and it came up. Phenomenal!
Nope, not just you. I had to view on a computer. Doesn’t load on my iphone or ipad. Beautiful.
Sorry about this, not sure what’s causing the issue – looking into it now
A friend sent this link to me and I’m excited to see it. Know what the issue might be?
Nevermind! It loaded and it’s fantastic! Thank you for doing this!
Still not workin on iPad even with using Google Chrome and selection “Request Desktop Sit” 🙁
Excellent, Been waiting so long for this one!
This is one of my favorite illustrations you’ve made. Thank you for this Gav!
I’ve heard this poem read twice in the last weeks by beautiful spoken word artists. At one reading someone commented that Maya Angelou’s spirit is free to live on in all of us now. You have captured this beautifully and it brought a tear to my eye. Thank you.
You have an extraordinary gift Gav! Thank you for sharing it and for your continuous inspiration.
This is something different! I like it very much!
Beautiful tribute to a beautiful woman. 🙂
AWESOME! I immediately thought of my Mom, Grandma, Teacher and Friends. I LOVE IT!
This is one of your best comics so far!! Phenomenal!
So disappointed that the comics did not open on my iPad!
Goosebumps!
One of my favourite Maya Angelou poems!! Thanks so much for capturing it with the right amount of strength, spunk, and beauty! It’s a ‘phenomenal’ piece by you.
I love this comic series because of all the people I can learn about.
This is great, I think all women need to hear this, I think that passion, confidence, inspiration and aspiration are very attractive qualities in a woman.
Nice one Gav.
Perfect. Just perfect.
Nice job, great tribute. You are an amazing creative artist. Much success to you.
She truly was a phenomenal woman! good job!
This brought tears to my eyes – Maya’s journey, all of our journeys.
That was a phenomenal adaptation of Maya Angelou’s poem. I do believe she would have approved. Would you share it on Facebook, so that we can share it with friends and get more people aware of Zen Pencils?
Gav – this is one of the best. I absolutely love the off-the-wall depictions – e.g. what she holds in the palm of her hand!!!! bravo!
Maya Angelou lives on,good work bro
I liked her ending in this reading better, would you consider changing it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeFfhH83_RE
Instead of “That’s Me” she says “All you women” “And Me!”
which has a better ring to it
you wrote it well and Gav gave us his creative side. We all are grateful for such talent, no matter how the words fit. They still state the same meaning.
We are wealthier for having Maya in our midst and now gone. We are gifted to have Gav and his creative mind flowing into art, we all enjoy. Cheers
Gav, A home run on this tribute to Maya!! Her writings and books were all great works, but this Phenomenally Woman touched so many at a time when we felt a collapse in politics and other arenas. Thank you for giving everyone your talents and reminding us of Greatness in a most amazing Phenomenally Woman!
What a beautiful tribute Gav! Wonderful and poetic!
Daaaaayyyyymmmm son!!! YOU’VE DONE IT AGAIN! 😀 I especially loved the pacing of this one. Another to the favorites!
(powers up the troll-o-matic)
I noticed that men are underrepresented in this comic. I think you should *always* strive for 50/50 representation in all your work, Gavin.
Remember, the merit of your art is secondary to my political and social agenda.
Oh, hardy-har-har. Your sarcasm has been noted — and discounted.
Hey Gav,
You probably get this a lot, but I just finished binge-reading all your comics and I wanted to commend you on all that you have done. You’ve faced some pretty big fears and created a huge impact with your site and I think that’s awesome.
I’m currently 25 and I am currently trying to establish myself as a life coach and self-help writer. Going through the steps of running your own business and truly testing your own limits is probably one of the most fulfilling and equally terrifying things I’ve ever done. I’ve seen you you write about overcoming your fears of expressing yourself and wrestling with burnout when you lose sight of your passions. I completely relate, and I hope you keep pushing forward.
Thanks Brandon, welcome to the site!
This is such a fantastic adaptation of Phenomenal Woman! It is truly such a fantastic tribute to Maya Angelou’s life!
My absolutely favorite Maya Angelou poem. Thank you for a perfect rendition.!!!
Hi Gavin! A remarkable tribute to an astonishing poem by a truly phenomenal woman. A lot of your work is very inspiring and I feel compelled to post it on LinkedIn. I noticed you do have a LinkedIn ID but is not very active. A lot of your work and comic strips can bring about a whole new thought process while adding a refreshing new dimension to great thoughts. I would be thrilled if you could post your work on LinkedIn too for all to see. Then I won’t have to post it but simply like it and share it 🙂
I second this thought. I’m still in the process of learning LinkedIn, but I’m told it’s a very smart decision to regularly update your account and add connections on it.
Beautiful tribute…phenomenal
Yes Beautiful
I love this memorialization of Maya Angelou. You’ve done an outstanding job of translating her words into a visual medium. Thanks!
Great work, Gav. This is a poem for women all over the world, big and small. Maya was a large woman, and that was part of why this poem reached so deep for me. It reached me as a strong, large woman who does not conform to the U.S. cultural demand of women — to be skinny and sexual, not healthy and strong — where attractiveness should be a product of a woman’s confidence instead of her reason for being.
Lately a lot of your quotes came from people post-mortem, and I’d like to see a change of pace. Please do a comic on Jim Carrey’s commencement address to the Maharishi University of Management.
Link is here: http://youtu.be/ajMpfPYlHi4
Thanks. 🙂
awesome — I love this memorialization of Maya Angelou. You’ve done an outstanding job of translating her words into a visual medium. Thanks!
This is an empowering poem from Maya Angelou, and you have done an amazing job bringing it to life. In an age where girls are trying to uphold beauty standards that aren’t even realistic thanks to digital retouching, this is a powerful message that beauty truly comes from within. I think you made an excellent selection.
Lovely. Will this be available for sale anytime?
Thank you Gav for this poem and illustration. It’s a truly beautiful and uplifting message. Well done cuz!
I love this comics! Thank you for this inspiring and beautiful piece of art. God bless you. 🙂
This is a bit random, but I just wanted to congratulate you on your drawings. I knew at a glance that I was seeing, for instance, Malcolm X. I didn’t know that he was part of Maya Angelou’s story, and he doesn’t have a standard “caricature” the way Bill Clinton does, but I immediately recognized him.
It’s a surprisingly tricky task to pull off, and I thought I should mention how impressed it made me.
And prostitute. You forgot prostitute.
If you haven’t actually seen Maya Angelou perform her Phenomenal Woman poem, you should. (I’m sure it’s somewhere on Youtube.) I saw her in the mid- 90’s, and now, as I read through your comic, I could hear her deep, gentle yet powerful voice. It enhanced your beautiful work that much more to have heard her, too. There was just something about her, you knew she wasn’t acting, she was that sure of herself. She felt all those things she said, even in her 60s or 70s. And she was that certain that we should believe it about ourselves, as well.
Enough rambling. Thank you, Gavin, for an incredible comic! I would love to see you choose a few frames for a poster.
PLEASE make this available as a poster as soon as possible. It’s gorgeous! I want to see it every day when I wake up. 🙂
When is this going to made into a poster? Soon, please?
This one, you knocked out of the park.
shitty art, kitsch message, clumsy writing
Twenty panels of an overconfident negress. Some dumb bitch kicking a bag. Another looking into a microscope.
Bravo. Moving.
Fantastic! Such an important message for women everywhere. One of my favorites by far, and I love all your work. Please make the poster available soon!
Oh Gav! I really don’t write here much, though perhaps I should, but this is wonderful. I loved how you made these women sexy, daring, strong, dignified, tender… I just find this strip amazing and Maya Angelou said “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel” and Gav: this strip made me feel phenomenal!
Thank you so much for bringing this to life. It made me misty-eyed.
Sin duda un gran trabajo y un merecido tributo a toda “Phenomenal Woman”, dondequiera que ella esté…
Really neat one here, wonder if you might do “Sun Ra” some day…
To say the least – Judge – “I ain’t seen a N—- like you…”
Sun Ra – “And you won’t ever see a N—- like me again!”
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Gav – this is one of the best. I absolutely love the off-the-wall depictions – e.g. what she holds in the palm of her hand!!!! bravo!
As a huge Maya’s fan and reader of all her books, the first episode (the shop) is a bit inaccurate. She was older, and she went to buy something to a shop open to anybody, but even so she was treated rudely, and the shop assistant refused to address her as “miss” (as coloured people were addressed with no respect and with ridiculous nicknames). So she protested and she asked to be called with her title, name, and surname. Her grandma had to send her away quickly after that happened to avoid lynching.
BUT this is just my pedantic side speaking. I LOVE THIS, and I think you did an amazing job and definitely portrayed her spirit fully in this work. I feel moved by reading, and the ending is stellar. THANKS!
I don’t believe you are being pedantic. If your observation is correct then you are correct to point out this mistake. For that readers should be grateful. I know am.
I could her Maya’s voice as I read this piece, thank you for doing it, really awesome.
I could hear Maya’s voice as I read this piece, thank you for doing it, really awesome.
Please make this available as a poster soon. Can’t wait to get it.
I just love this one….makes me so proud to be a woman
Please make this into a poster!!!!
Hey Gav, this was excellent! Yes, a poster would be puuuurfectissimo! I’ll take 3, I need this at work!
I love this comic , i remember my childhood <3
I could her Maya’s voice as I read this piece, thank you for doing it, really awesome.
I just love this one….makes me so proud to be a woman
Please make this into a poster!!!!
Please make this available as a poster soon. Can’t wait to get it.
Hey Gav, this was excellent! Yes, a poster would be puuuurfectissimo! I’ll take 3, I need this at work!
Gav – this is one of the best. I absolutely love the off-the-wall depictions – e.g. what she holds in the palm of her hand!!!! bravo!
I like this infographic, please use more infographics like this, I am really impress with them.
NO RASICM AGAIN…. LOVE THIS CARTOON
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Yes, she was a phenomenal woman. And your describing in Phenomenal Woman comic is very brilliant.
This is wonderful. Well done!
Sisters are different flowers from the same garden.
“Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike.”
The older generation thought nothing of getting up at five every morning – and the younger generation doesn’t think much of it either.
The selfish man looks into the world as he looks into his mirror: only to see himself. ~James Lendall Basford (1845–1915), Sparks from the Philosopher’s Stone, 1882
thanks once again!
Thanks alot,very nice
Thank you Gavin for your “MAYA ANGELOU: Phenomenal Woman” comic post
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What You Lack In Talent Can Be Made Up With Desire, Hustle And Giving 110% All The Time.
Thank you Gavin for your “RALPH WALDO EMERSON
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officially one of my favorite zenpencil illustrations. Great job!! (rest in peace to a phenomenal woman).
Hi Gavin,
This is by far my favorite poem of all times. I was looking to buy a poster of this but nothing seems to describe it better than your comic. Please I beg you to make it a poster! I would love to hang it in my room
– A fan from Peru
nice post admin thanks for this i am waiting for next post
Great illustrations. One of my favorite here!
she so…so phenomenal woman 🙂
love this cartoon
Oh Gav! I really don’t write here much, though perhaps I should, but this is wonderful. I loved how you made these women sexy, daring, strong, dignified, tender…best free wordpress plugins 2016
Beautifully describe the characters nice comic cartoon I really Love it thanks also for living other references to follow up you back to the site I Love comic books while in a free moment I just love to read the comic books thanks for sharing with us…
We have to say this is a phenomenal comic it is well explained about a phenomenal woman…
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