Writer, singer, dancer, and African-American activist, born in St Louis, Missouri, USA. She has had a variety of occupations in what she describes as a roller-coaster life. She toured Europe and Africa in the musical Porgy and Bess, and in New York City joined the Harlem Writers Guild. In the 1960s she was involved in black struggles, then spent several years in Ghana as editor of African Review. Her multi-volume autobiography, commencing with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1970), was a critical and popular success. Her later books include All God's Children Need Travelling Shoes (1986) and My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken and Me (1994). She has published several volumes of verse, including And Still I Rise (1987) and Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou (1995).
Maya Angelou|
Maya Angelou |
|
| Born: |
April 4, 1928 (age 78) |
|---|---|
| Occupation(s): | Novelist/Poet |
| Nationality: | United States |
Maya Angelou (born Marguerite Johnson April 4, 1928) is an American poet, memoirist, actress and an important figure in the American Civil Rights Movement.
Angelou is known for the autobiographical writings I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969) and All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes (1986). Her volume of poetry, Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Die (1971) was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, and in 1993, Angelou read her poem On the Pulse of Morning written for Bill Clinton's Presidential inauguration at his request.
Angelou has published many other collections of verse, has traveled abroad to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and has worked as a journalist for foreign publications.
She has received numerous honors including the Yale University Fellowship. Angelou has taught at the University of Ghana and the University of Kansas and holds a lifetime chair as the Z. In 2005, Angelou was honored by Oprah Winfrey at her Legends Ball along with 25 other African-American women who Winfrey considered as an inspiration. Angelou's doctorates are all honorary.
Background
Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Ann Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928. While she was living with her grandmother, Maya participated in many dance classes including tap, jazz and salsa. After five years apart from their mother, the children returned home. This move eventually took a turn for the worse when Angelou was seven and was raped by her mother's boyfriend. She was sent back to Stamps because no one could handle the grim state Angelou was in. With the constant help of a woman named Mrs. Flowers, Angelou began to evolve into the girl who possessed the pride and confidence she once had.
In 1940, she and her brother were sent to San Francisco to live with their mother again. Angelou's bad childhood spent moving back and forth between her mother and grandmother caused her to struggle with maturity. Angelou soon found herself pregnant, and at the age of 16 she delivered her son, Guy.
Works
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Angelou's first work of literature, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, is an autobiography. Angelou's sometimes disruptive life inspired her to write this book. Angelou wrote with a twist of lyrical imagery along with a touch of realism.
Gather Together in My Name
Gather Together in My Name centers on Angelou and her brother's move away from their grandmother. Also in the novel, Angelou writes about an affair with a customer at a restaurant and her brief experience with drugs.
Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas
Angelou's third novel covers about five years of her life from the ages of twenty-two to twenty-seven. She talks about how the guilt over her neglect of her son nearly drove her to suicide, but her love of life, motherhood, and dancing sent her running home.
The Heart of a Woman
The title of her fourth novel, The Heart of a Woman, comes from a poem that was written during the Harlem Renaissance by the poet Georgia Douglas Johnson. Once again, in this magazine, Angelou is in search of her identity and place. Narrating her thirties, Angelou reflects on her son Guy, the civil rights movement, marriage, and her own writing.
All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes
Angelou's fifth autobiography, All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes, shows her to have developed an even greater sense of connection with her African past.
As well as each single book, Maya Angelou now has one book that includes all her autobiographies.
Film and television
Angelou wrote the screenplay and score for the film Georgia, Georgia in 1971;
Maya Angelou appeared in 1977 in a brief cameo on The Richard Pryor Special? (a special to showcase Pryor's talents) as the wife of a drunkard, Willie (played by Pryor). Angelou greets him at the door, she begins a heart-wrenching monologue that continues as she watches him collapse on the couch into a drunken sleep (the crowd can even be heard laughing as she begins, not expecting the turn it takes).
In 1978, Angelou was host to a 30-episode educational series produced by the Coast Community College District in Southern California in conjunction with the City Colleges of Chicago. Still used in colleges throughout the United States as a telecourse series, the series offers many opportunities to hear Angelou read various poetry -- including her own -- in her sonorous voice, infusing the poetry with great meaning.
Poetry works
Some information in this article or section has not been verified and may not be reliable.Please check for any inaccuracies, and modify and cite sources as needed. A Conceit Alone Equality Massa got me workin Human Family Insomniac Men Million Man March Poem Momma Welfare Roll Cornbread and Watermelon Pie On the Pulse of Morning Passing Time Phenomenal Woman Refusal Remembrance Still I Rise The Detached The Lesson They Went Home Touched by an Angel Weekend Glory When You Come Woman Work Kin True Love Mother
XM Radio
It was announced that Maya Angelou will have a weekly radio show on Oprah Winfery's radio channel Oprah & The show is described like this: It's an hour of life lessons and laughs as Dr. Maya Angelou introduces herself to a new radio audience and answers your questions. How does Dr. Angelou find inner peace? Dr. Angelou shares her wisdom, poetry, reflections and personal story. It can be heard live Wedesdays at 10 a.m. and encores: Wedesdays at 4 p.m., 10 p.m..
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