The New York Public Library
Archives & manuscripts, maya angelou papers 1927 - 2009 [bulk 1961 - 2009].
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Biographical/historical information
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Maya Angelou (1928-2014) was one of the most renowned and celebrated voices in American literature. The Maya Angelou papers consist of original manuscripts, computer generated typescripts, galleys, and proofs of published work as well as manuscripts for unpublished work and dozens of poems. Additionally, there is personal and professional correspondence, teaching files, printed matter, and materials from public and academic appearances and engagements.
Maya Angelou (1928-2014) was one of the most renowned and celebrated voices in American literature. She was a poet, memoirist, novelist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, dancer, historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist.
In the mid-fifties, Angelou toured Europe with a production of the opera Porgy and Bess . She studied modern dance with Martha Graham, danced with Alvin Ailey on television variety shows and, in 1957, recorded her first album, Calypso Lady . In 1958, she moved to New York, where she joined the Harlem Writers Guild, acted in the historic Off-Broadway production of Jean Genet's The Blacks and wrote and performed Cabaret for Freedom . She also worked for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), under Martin Luther King Jr.'s leadership. In the early 1960s, she moved with her son to Africa, where she lived and worked for various news outlets, as a journalist, in Egypt and Ghana. Inspired by James Baldwin to write her story, Angelou published her first book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969) to international acclaim and enormous popular success. Her published verse, non-fiction, and fiction include more than 30 bestselling titles, such as Gather Together in My Name (1974), And Still I Rise (1978), and I Shall Not Be Moved (1990). Among her accomplishments, Angelou wrote the screenplay and composed the score for the 1972 film Georgia, Georgia . Her script, the first by an African American woman ever to be filmed, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. She made numerous television and film appearances, in Alex Haley's Roots (1977) and John Singleton's Poetic Justice (1993), among others. The feature film, Down in the Delta , was Angelou's directorial debut.
Angelou composed and read her poem "On the Pulse of the Morning" at President William (Bill) Clinton's first inaugural ceremony in 1993. Angelou served on two presidential committees; was awarded the Presidential Medal of Arts in 2000 and the Lincoln Medal in 2008; and has received three Grammy Awards. Despite never attending college, she received over thirty honorary degrees from universities across the nationa. Angelou died in 2014, leaving a legacy of artistry for generations to come.
The Maya Angelou papers consist of original manuscripts, computer generated typescripts, galleys, and proofs of published work such as I Know why the Caged Bird Sings , Hallelujah the Welcome Table , I Shall Not Be Moved , A Song Flung Up to Heaven , Heart of a Woman , and All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes , among others, as well as manuscripts for unpublished work and dozens of poems. Additionally, there is personal and professional correspondence with such notable figures as James Baldwin, Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, Mari Evans, Rosa Guy, Coretta Scott King, Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach, Julian Mayfield, Malcolm X, and her editors, to name a few.
Also significant are requests to read or perform her work at universities and other organizations, and material related to various organizations' boards and committees on which she participated. Additionally, there are office files; teaching material, such as syllabi and reading assignments; and materials pertaining to Angelou's Hallmark greeting card series. There are a large number of subject files on various individuals, organizations, geographic locations, publications, and schools. Lastly, there is a considerable amount of material about Angelou and includes newspaper clippings, magazine articles, reviews, and other printed material regarding her publications and appearances..
The Maya Angelou papers are arranged in five series:
This first series contains information about Angelou's personal life, including items from her grandmother and uncle, such as a will and financial records; visas for Egypt; correspondence with her mother, son, and other family members; and various awards and honors, including honorary degrees, that she received over the years.
This series is divided into five subseries: (1) Personal; (2) Professional; (3) Agents and publishers; (4) Regrets; and (5) Fan mail, the last of which is restricted until 2030. The personal subseries includes letters, emails, faxes, and telegrams to and from friends and colleagues, including James Baldwin, Coretta Scott King, Julian Mayfield, and Dolly McPherson. Many of the items in this subseries overlap with the professional subseries, but are included here because Angelou had close relationships with the individuals before any professional aspects arose. The same occurs with the professional subseries; Angelou became friendly with many of the individuals associated with organizations in which she participated, but after becoming involved professionally. Most of the professional correspondence involves requests for donations, permissions to publish, or requests for participation in an event or performance. Both the personal and professional subseries are organized alphabetically by last name of individual or name of organization, family, or publication. The agents and publishers subseries consists of correspondence with the three literary agents with whom Angelou worked; most of these files also include contracts for publications and promotional events. This material is arranged alphabetically by agent's name. The publishers' correspondence also is arranged alphabetically by publisher's name, although Random House, as the main publisher of Angelou's work, is first. Most of these files also contain contracts. Most of the publishers, excluding Random House, published paperback, revised, or translated editions of Angelou's published work; additionally, many of these publishers requested quotes or reviews from Angelou about other authors' work. The regrets subseries contains correspondence related to event participation; Angelou marked "no", "sent regrets", or "booked" to indicate that she declined these invitations. In some cases, the events were cancelled, and the related correspondence is included here.
This series is comprised of all aspects of the writing process, from handwritten first drafts to final edited proofs, for Angelou's most well-known publications, including I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Letter to My Daughter . Additionally, there is a large number of unpublished work, including poems, essays, and articles. This series also consists of work by others, mostly by friends and colleagues or from publishers requesting quotes or comments.
This series contains material related to Angelou's professional activities, such as public appearances, participation on boards and committees, a collaboration with Hallmark, work by her asssistants, teaching material, and research material. The first subseries, appearances and engagements, includes public appearances, participation on boards and committees, and performances; this material mostly consists of printed matter, such as programs and flyers for lectures and performances, and committee- and board-related memos and minutes from various organizations. Additionally, there is some correspondence related to these appearances, mostly involving schedules, travel itineraries, and in some cases, contracts. The second subseries relates to her collaboration with Hallmark; Angelou worked with the company in the early 2000s on a line of greeting cards and accessories. The third subseries involves material from her office, such as correspondence from and with her assistants; party invitations and planning; travel itineraries and schedules; and phone, fax, and mail logs. The teaching files subseries mostly includes material from Wake Forest University, where she spent most of her academic career. This material contains course syllabi, reading lists and material, class rosters, and faculty memos. Finally, the research material is organized as subject files, with subgroups created by Angelou; this material mostly consists of printed matter, such as publications, clippings, brochures, and programs.
This series includes all printed matter about Angelou; the majority of the files contain newspaper and magazine article clippings of her interviews and appearances. Some clippings contain quotes by Angelou or refer to her in some way. In addition, this series includes publicity, such as advertisements for Angelou's work and public appearances. There also are numerous reviews of her work, and a large amount of clippings about President Bill Clinton's inauguration ceremony and Angelou's inauguration poem, "On the Pulse of the Morning". In many instances, the original clippings are included but there are also a number of photocopies.
Source of acquisition
Purchase, Maya Angelou Foundation, 2008.
Processing information
Initially processed by Steven G. Fullwood, Miranda Mims, Natiba Guy-Clement, Christopher Stahling, and Fred Sayles in 2016-2017. Processing completed by Lauren Stark in September 2019.
Separated material
Transferred to the Art and Artifacts Division: Gavel and paperweight from President Clinton; "Colored" and "White" toilet signs; Pacific State Association Daughters of IBPOE of W sash; "Mammy" brand label; "Do Not Stand Idly By—Save Darfur" green bracelet; "I Have a Dream" medal; Marvtastic Society pin; National Organization for Women pin; Christmas in Washington ornament; Horizon's Day '90 pin (with Angelou's photograph); "Still We Rise!" pin; Thurgood Marshall stamp pin.
Transferred to the Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division: 3 books.
Transferred to the Moving Image and Recorded Sound (MIRS) Division: audio and moving image materials. For more information, please contact the division at [email protected] or 212-491-2270.
Transferred to the Photographs and Prints Division: 1 paige box and 1 archival box of photographs, mostly of Angelou at various events and appearances (includes two albums from Hallmark events; 1 album from an event sponsored by Oprah Winfrey; various individual snapshots; postcard images from Stamps, Arkansas).
Related Material
Maya Angelou Film and Theater collection, Wake Forest University
Material types
Access to materials, access restrictions.
Fan mail is closed until 2030. Photographs and prints held by the Photographs and Prints Division are unavailable pending processing.
Container List
Arranged into three subseries: (1) Biographical; (2) Family correspondence; and (3) Awards and honors.
Although there is not a large amount of material from Angelou's early life, there are some items that provide some context, such as a report on Arkansas, written by Angelou in elementary school, most likely from the mid-1930s, and financial records of her grandmother, Annie Henderson, also from the 1930s. Additional items of note include a memorial service program and guestbook for her mother, Vivian Baxter, and her brother, Bailey Johnson; an original program for a Parisian performance of Porgy and Bess , 1953; a Porgy and Bess scrapbook from the Israeli tour, 1955; and invoices from Ghana.
Arranged chronologically.
Maya Angelou's grandfather (husband of Annie Henderson).
Ledger containing the handwritten proceedings of the 43rd-48th sessions of the West Arkansas Annual Conference, which were gatherings of bishops from various episcopal districtgs. The proceedings include minutes, committee reports, and financial information.
Maya Angelou's grandmother.
Oversized scrapbook containing a handwritten report by "Margurette Johnson" about the history of Arkansas, for which she received a grade of B-.
Small composition notebook, possibly belonging to Maya Angelou's brother, Bailey, since it includes a partial letter to "Daddy" and references "Margarett". Notebook also contains school lessons and drawings.
Weekly income and expense ledger; only a few records have been completed. Possibly belonged to Annie Henderson for use in her general store since expenses listed include candy, bread, and potatoes.
Oversized program for the production at the Theatre de L'Empire, Paris, where Maya Angelou played Ruby.
Scrapbook of clippings of the Israeli tour of the show; on the inside cover, it is inscribed to Dr. Thomas Mc.Grail, Attache of Cultural Affairs. One page includes clippings of "dancer" Maya Angelou. Most of the clippings are in Hebrew.
The aunt and uncle of Maya Angelou.
Includes the Egyptian visas of Maya Angelou and her son, Guy Johnson; a newspaper article in Arabic with Angelou's picture, possibly one that she wrote for the Arab Observer ; and letters of introduction on behalf of Angelou when she planned on living and working in Liberia.
Includes invoices and a theater program from the University of Ghana, where Angelou worked for a time. Also includes a letter to Angelou from someone close to Malcolm X (husband of Connie).
Includes reviews of Echoes of a Distant Summer .
Will of Willie Johnson, uncle of Maya Angelou. Also includes probate notice.
Mostly photocopies of clippings of Maya Angelou's mother.
Uncle of Maya Angelou.
Includes application material, correspondence, and mementos.
Maya Angelou offered reminiscences and both she and her son read poems.
Mostly includes correspondence from Alice Windom, who organized a reunion in Washington, DC, for African Americans living in or visiting Ghana from 1957-1966.
Article on missing children, one of whom was Angelou's grandson, Colin Murphy Johnson.
Stepfather of Angelou who died in 1986; certificate sent by Vivian Baxter in 1987.
Lists Angelou's fatal allergy to seafood.
Also includes thank you note from Maya Angelou and family.
Program for naming of park after Maya Angelou's mother in Stockton, California. Angelou was a special guest at the ceremony. Also includes a letter and map of the proposed park.
Program for Angelou's 70th birthday celebration with a mock Time cover.
Maya Angelou's brother.
Includes lists of exercises, one of which was prescribed by her doctor.
This subseries contains correspondence with her mother, Vivian Baxter; brother, Bailey Johnson; son, Guy Johnson; grandmother, Annie Henderson; second husband, Paul du Feu; and niece, Rosa Johnson, who would later work for Angelou as an assistant and archivist. Since this correspondence provides a better understanding of Angelou's early life, it is included here rather than in the correspondence series.
Arranged alphabetically by last name for specific family members, and then chronologically for more general correspondence.
Maya Angelou's second husband.
Angelou's cousin
Family history, 1800-2002, compiled by Ruth Love and Martha Brown; includes letter from Brown.
Maya Angelou's niece and daughter of Bailey Johnson; she also worked as her archivist.
Includes a drawing with an inscription from Elliott (Johnson), Angelou's grandson.
Not all of the files contain the awards or honors themselves; many files contain printed matter (invitations, brochures, programs) or correspondence related to the award, tribute, or ceremony.
Arranged alphabetically by name of award or sponsoring organization.
Sponsored by the National Council of International Visitors.
Maya Angelou was honored in 1983; she is listed at the back of this volume.
Includes a letter from Etta Moten Barnett.
Includes correspondence and printed matter related to Angelou's multiple nominations and one win (1994).
Includes degrees, correspondence, and printed matter (such as commencement programs) for various institutions, including Smith College, Oberlin College, and Boston College, among others.
Includes degrees, correspondence, and printed matter (such as commencement programs) for various institutions, including Brown University, Tufts University, and Simmons College, among others.
Includes degrees, correspondence, and printed matter (such as commencement programs) for various institutions, including Columbia University, Michigan State University, and Bennett College, among others.
Tribute benefitted the United Negro College Fund.
Presented during the Langston Hughes Festival, held at City College of New York.
Sponsored by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Martin Luther King Legacy Association.
Sponsored by New York Women in Communications, Inc.
Also includes programs from the 2001 and 2007 award ceremonies; Angelou is listed in both as a past recipient.
Awarded to My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken, and Me .
Group of sculptures of 25 humanitarian leaders in Oakland, California.
Sponsored by the Johnnetta B. Cole Global Diversity and Inclusion Institution at Bennett College.
Angelou was the award winner in 1992 but the program is dated 1993 (possibly a misprint).
Arranged into five subseries as established by Angelou and her office: (1) Personal; (2) Professional; (3) Agents and publishers; (4) Regrets; and (5) Fan mail.
Fan mail is closed until 2030.
Arranged alphabetically by last name or organization name, followed by the corresponding letter of the alphabet, which represents general correspondence and is loosely arranged chronologically.
Includes some of Alexander's poetry.
American journalist who worked for Newsweek and Life magazine.
Writer and publicist.
Mother of James Baldwin.
Also includes mostly photocopies of his obituaries.
James Baldwin's nephew.
Journalist for NBC News.
Worked for ABC.
Also includes photocopy of an obituary.
Congressman from Indiana.
Executive Director of the Reynolda House.
Ambassador from Ghana.
President of B and C Associates.
Actor; costarred with Angelou in The Blacks .
Friends from Ghana.
Author and composer.
Includes homemade card.
Reverend of Riverside Church.
Includes speech by Coor, President of the University of Vermont, on the occasion of the Martin Luther King Memorial.
Worked for CBS Television.
Photographer for Angelou's book, My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken, and Me .
Includes autographed picture.
Wife of Countee Cullen.
Founder of African-American Dance Ensemble.
Played Zebidiah in And Still I Rise , which was directed by Angelou at AMAS Repertory Theatre in New York.
Nephew of Marian Anderson.
Angelou supported Douglass's run for a congressional seat in Georgia.
Ran for a Congressional seat in North Carolina.
Includes poetry by Evans.
Angelou collaborated with Tom Feelings on Now Sheba Sings the Song .
Includes poem by Finn.
Music executive.
Co-organized with Campbell Cawood.
Editor, Howard University Press.
Worked at Essence and The New York Times .
Includes transcript of interview with Angelou for The New York Times in 1992.
Producer, City Arts and Lectures.
Played the young Maya Angelou in the television production of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings .
Member of the House of Commons, British Parliament.
Includes transcript of interview.
Baseball player.
Includes signed cardboard envelope with photographs.
Opera singer.
Founder and president of Black Enterprise .
Brother of Alex Haley and US Ambassador of Ghana.
Includes signed cover of French Vogue .
Includes letter from Angelou to Houston.
Daughter of Billie Holiday.
Executive at BET.
Includes writing by Jordan-Powell.
First President of Zambia.
Includes excerpt from Angelou's Gather Together in My Name .
Literary agents from Lordly and Dame.
Angelou's long-time publisher at Random House.
Although they were never officially married, Angelou and Make referred to each other as husband and wife and Angelou used his name while in Egypt.
President and CEO of Jamaica Business Resource Center.
Reverend of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, Springfield, Illinois.
Includes letters from Ghana and copies of obituaries.
Columnist, San Francsico Chronicle .
Editor, The Sacramento Bee .
Includes letter from Angelou to McGraw and Hill.
Visual artist.
Also known as "Decca" Treuhaft.
King of the Royal Bafokeng Nation of South Africa.
Mostly includes phone messages from Moon.
Alderman of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Includes poem by Ochberg.
Daughter of Jessica Mitford (Decca) and Bob Treuhaft.
Senator from North Carolina.
Senior pastor, Crystal Cathedral Ministries.
Senator from Illinois.
Includes letter from Angelou to Simone.
Literary agent.
From the Mafundi Institute.
Includes poem by Tomlinson.
Husband of Jessica Mitford (Decca Treuhaft).
Includes letter from Angelou to Tunie.
Includes letter to Tyson sent on behalf of Angelou by her niece, Rosa Johnson.
Includes letter from Angelou to Warwick.
United States Congresswoman from California.
Worked at Newsweek .
Mayor of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Includes typescript of "Racism: The Cancer That Is Destroying America", which was published in the Egyptian Gazette , August 25, 1976.
Arranged alphabetically by last name or organization name, followed by the corresponding letter of the alphabet, which represents general correspondence and is arranged chronologically.
Includes correspondence with ABC News and ABC Home.
Most of the correspondence is with Albert Nellum, on behalf of his association and the Black Business Council.
Correspondence sent on behalf of Alexander in her role as the chairperson of the National Endowment for the Arts.
Angelou received an honorary degree from the College.
Amelan wanted to collaborate with Angelou on a book about Patrick Kelly.
Includes proposal for book by Angelou.
Also includes personal correspondence from Andrew and Carolyn Young.
Includes Angelou's membership card.
Includes correspondence with Robert Brown, but in a professional capacity, regarding the formation of an organization, Coalition to Stop the Violence, among other topics.
Ghana's ambassador to the United States.
Include a typescript of Angelou's entry for the Index .
Includes transcript of a 1976 interview with Angelou.
Angelou received an honorary degree from Boston College in 1983.
Executive Editor, The Washington Post .
Mayor of Los Angeles.
Includes contracts for Angelou's participation in various BBC productions.
Includes letter from Angelou to Brown.
Alderman of Winston-Salem.
Includes correspondence from Barbara Bush and George W. Bush.
Congresswoman from Virginia.
Also includes correspondence from Rosalynn Carter.
Includes correspondence and a contract regarding a Sara Lee Direct-sponsored documentary about the school.
Includes contracts for essays written for Belief in Action .
Only includes letter from Angelou to Chase.
The film which Angelou directed, Down in the Delta , was nominated.
United States Senator.
Editor, Mark Twain Journal .
Literary agent in London.
Include drafts of biographical entries.
Mayor of East Orange, New Jersey.
Chairman, Madison Hotels.
Only includes letter from Angelou to the Crystals.
Includes letter to D'Amato from Angelou.
Includes letter from Russell Simmons.
Congressman from California.
Much of the correspondence is from Minyon Moore, Deputy Political Director.
Angelou was a member of the Guild.
Includes photocopy of Angelou's membership card.
Nephew of Katherine Dunham.
Governor of North Carolina.
Angelou received an honorary degree from the University.
Also includes letters from Johnson Publishing and its president, Linda Johnson Rice.
United States Senator from North Carolina.
Nigerian Ambassador to the United States.
Author of Conversations with Maya Angelou , published in 1989.
Includes some personal correspondence with Susan Taylor.
Founder of Fais-One Productions.
A book on women's spiritual development for which Angelou was interviewed.
Includes Board of Directors' meeting minutes and by-laws; unclear if Angelou was a board member, but most likely she was a supporter of the organization.
Director of the Hay-on-Wye Festival of Literature, in which Angelou participated.
Includes correspondence from various organizations such as the Forsyth Humane Society and the Forsyth County Public Library System.
Angelou was interviewed for their book, 100 Legends .
Includes an invitation from the President of Ghana (2006).
Founder of Kathi Goldmark Media Escorts.
Mayor of Philadelphia.
Stedman Graham was a managing partner of the firm in the 1990s.
Angelou appeared on The Merv Griffin Show in 1974.
Includes academic papers on reparations by Dudley Thompson, Jamaica's Ambassador to Nigeria.
HCCI's first housing cooperative development, "Angelou Court", was named in honor of Angelou.
Also includes personal correspondence with Barbara King.
Includes sheet music composed by Holland.
Record label for Ashford and Simpson.
Includes correspondence related to the publicity tour for the album that Angelou recorded with Ashford and Simpson, Been Found .
An affordable housing organization in Portland, Oregon, with a development named after Angelou.
United States Senator from Texas.
American diplomat and ambassador of various nations.
Includes some correspondence from supporters of Jackson's presidential run and others from the National Rainbow Coalition, which was founded by Jackson.
Angelou participated in their production of McDonald's African-American Heritage Series audio cassettes.
Gospel singer with his own television show, The Bobby Jones Gospel Show .
United States Senator from Kansas.
Editor of The Negritude Poets .
Photocopy of a letter from Angelou (signed Maya Angelou Make) to King; the original is located in the Martin Luther King Jr., Research and Education Institute at Stanford University.
Angelou appeared on his show, "The Irv Kupcinet Show".
Includes transcript of an interview with Angelou conducted by Sister Joan Leonard of the Ursuline Convent.
Produced ROOTS--Celebrating 25 Years , in which Angelou was interviewed.
Congressman from Georgia.
Includes contract for article written by Angelou for the December 1988 issue.
Locklair wrote, Since Dawn , a tone poem for an orchestra, chorus, and narrator based on Angelou's "On the Pulse of Morning".
Most of the correspondence is sent on behalf of the Mandelas; there is one letter written directly to Angelou from Winnie Mandela.
Includes letter from Angelou to McClendon.
The fiction writing award from McDonald's Literary Achievement Awards program was named after Angelou.
Producer of CBS Sunday Morning .
Angelou received an honorary degree from the College in 1977.
United States Senator from Illinois.
Chief of Protocol for the Nation of Islam.
Rainbow/PUSH was formed in 1996 as a merger of two non-profit organizations founded by Jesse Jackson — Operation PUSH and the National Rainbow Coalition.
Angelou was a member of the NSPCC's Board of Directors.
Angelou was a member of the North Carolina branch's Board of Directors.
Includes letter from Bella Abzug.
Angelou became a member of this organization in 1999.
Congressman from North Carolina.
Includes a transcript of a portion of an interview with Angelou about autobiography.
John Singleton's production company.
Also includes early correspondence from Woodie King, the founder of the New Federal Theatre, on behalf of Woodie King Associates and the National Black Touring Circuit.
Most of the correspondence is from Odetta's producers and others, but there is one handwritten note from Odetta herself.
The later correspondence is regarding Angelou's participation in a tribute album to the musician.
Includes a letter on behalf of Olsen and a photocopy of a foreword written by Olsen.
Includes a transcript of an interview, sent by George Plimpton, that was printed in the fall issue.
Includes a letter of recommendation, written by Parker, for Angelou's nomination to the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Angelou was a member of the Board of Advisers of the North Carolina branch.
Candidate for Oakland City Council.
Includes a short review by Angelou of Pinkney's book.
Photographer and artist who worked on the Church: Songs of Soul and Inspiration album along with Angelou.
Angelou's manager and president of Gerard W. Purcell Associates.
President and First Lady of Ghana.
Angelou appeared on episode #113, "Arthur's Eyes".
Includes an invitation to Reagan's inauguration.
Treasurer and later, Governor, of Texas.
Chairman of Barnes and Noble.
Includes transcript of an interview with Angelou about reading.
Angelou's attorney, partner in Franklin, Weinrib, Rudell and Vassallo.
Stedman Graham's company.
Some of the correspondence refers to a scholarship named for Angelou.
Includes transcript of an interview with Angelou for the magazine.
Book of photographs that includes images of Angelou.
Daughter of Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz.
Mother of Tupac Shakur.
Congresswoman from New York.
Angelou received an honorary degree from the College in 1975.
Includes drafts and the final version of an interview with Angelou printed in a 2001 issue of the magazine.
Ambassador of Ghana.
Also includes correspondence about Sing for the Cure.
Szigeti booked Angelou for his Unique Lives and Experiences lecture series.
Only includes a photocopy of a note from Angelou to Terkel.
Includes contract for Angelou's assistance with the "Hall of Presidents" theme park project.
Includes proof of final interview for publication.
Publicists for Bill Withers.
Used Angelou's name in their advertising without her permission.
Includes a contract for Angelou's participation in a conference.
Includes edited transcript of interview with Angelou.
Includes draft deed of gift for donation of Angelou's archival materials to the Z. Smith Reynolds Library.
Mostly includes letters of support of Angelou after an unflattering editorial in The Wake Forest Critic , an independent publication.
Includes correspondence from Jackie Trescott, a staff writer.
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Japan.
Mayor of Boston.
Host of The Right Side .
Only includes a photocopied letter from Angelou to Wilson.
United States Senator from Pennsylvania.
Alderman of Winston-Salem and later, Congressman from North Carolina.
Includes letter and certificate regarding Angelou's nomination for induction.
Arranged into two sub-groups: (1) Agents and (2) Publishers.
Arranged in alphabetical order by name of agency or last name of agent.
Helen Brann started The Helen Brann Agency, a literary agency, in 1974. She was close friends and later, business associates, with legendary dramatic rights literary agent, Flora Roberts, who also represented Angelou. For decades she represented many writers besides Angelou, including Julian Barnes, Richard Brautigan, Gerald Clarke, Nora Johnson, Stephen Sondheim, and Robert B. Parker.
The Helen Brann Agency handled Angelou's contracts with publishers, including Random House; permission requests; and requests to contribute to other authors' work. The agency also oversaw the approval process for her children's books.
Lordly and Dame, a lecture bureau based in Massachusetts, acted as Angelou's lecture agent. Other clients have included Dr. Joyce Brothers and George Plimpton.
Flora Roberts was a play agent based in New York, New York. Although most of her clients were writers, she also represented a few directors and designers. Although Roberts passed away in 1998, Angelou continued to work with her agency throughout 1999.
As a theatrical agent, Roberts represented Angelou's participation in musical, film, and theater performances, and its corresponding publicity.
Random House published the majority of Angelou's work. The exceptions include her children's books, My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken and Me ; Kofi and His Magic ; and Life Doesn't Frighten Me , the first two of which were published by Clarkson Potter (now part of the Crown Publishing Group) and the last of which was published by Stewart, Tabori, Chang. In addition, Now Sheba Sings the Song , Angelou's collaboration with Tom Feelings, was published by Dutton/Dial Books (now part of the Penguin Group).
After the files on Random House, everything is arranged in alphabetical order.
Random House, now known as Penguin Random House, publishes original fiction and nonfiction in all formats; the publishing house has published all of Angelou's books (autobiographies, poetry collections, and essay collections) under the editorship of Robert Loomis.
Also includes correspondence from Viking.
Responsible for the Swedish translation of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings .
Angelou's international publisher.
Arranged into two subseries as established by Angelou and her office: (1) Angelou's writing and (2) Other people's work.
This subseries is comprised of drafts, handwritten, typed, and edited; correspondence with editors and publishers; galleys; proofs; cover proofs; and printed copies of excerpts or reprints of all of Angelou's most well-known publications. These publications include all of her autobiographies (except for Mom and Me and Mom ), essay collections, and poetry collections; most of her children's books, except for Life Doesn't Frighten Me ; one of her cookbooks; and a few scripts, most notably the playscript for And Still I Rise (The Musical) . Additionally, there are numerous essays and articles, including the series that she wrote for Playgirl in the mid-1970s, and contributions to other people's work (mostly as forewords and introductions). Also included are speeches, lectures, and tributes, such as the tribute for the Special Olympics. There is a significant amount of unpublished material, which also consists of drafts, handwritten, typed, and edited; it is arranged into similar subgroups as the published material. Although there is correspondence with editors and publishers in some of these cases, it is unclear if the material was ever published. Most of the handwritten drafts, published and unpublished, are written on yellow legal pads, Angelou's preferred method of writing.
Arranged into 13 subgroups: (1) Autobiographies; (2) Essay collections; (3) Children's books; (4) Cookbooks; (5) Poetry; (6) Essays and articles; (7) Scripts; (8) Lyrics; (9) Forewords and other contributions; (10) Lectures and speeches; (11) Memorials and tributes; (12) Other; and (13) Unpublished work.
Arranged chronologically, by publication date. Dates on individual folders indicate dates when material was written or revised. Some folders are not in chronological order in order to maintain consistency in the arrangement of this section. This arrangement consists of listing the various stages of the writing process first, followed by editorial and administrative aspects, such as privacy questions and book jacket proofs.
The first volume of Angelou's autobiographies, originally published in 1969.
The first box of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings follows the order written on the original folders (I-XI); this order does not seem to correspond to the order of the action in the book, however.
Photocopied release from Bailey Johnson, Angelou's brother.
Includes an introduction and afterword by Bill Moyers.
Includes jackets from Random House and Virago.
This edition was intended for educational purposes in England only.
The second volume of Angelou's autobiographies, originally published in 1974.
Photocopied releases from Bailey Johnson and Vivian Baxter.
Includes dust jackets from Bantam (for paperback edition) and Virago.
The third volume of Angelou's autobiographies, originally published in 1976.
Written during Angelou's Bellagio residency.
Includes original and photocopy.
Draft release form, unsigned, for Bailey Johnson, Vivian Baxter, and Guy Johnson.
The fourth volume of Angelou's autobiographies, originally published in 1981.
Possibly says "Loomis' questions" at the top, so page list could indicate questions that Robert Loomis had and/or edits that needed to be addressed.
Probably incomplete (many pages out of order). Some pages are photocopies.
Mostly photocopies.
Photocopies.
Unclear if these images were intended for an illustrated version of the book.
Includes jackets from Bantam (paperback edition) and Virago.
The fifth volume of Angelou's autobiographies, originally published in 1986; draft title was "When to Blow the Stolen Trumpet".
Includes "No Longer Out of Africa", printed in Ms. , August 1986. Photocopies.
Jackets from Vintage (trade paperback edition) and Virago.
Draft of a short story, which was reworked from an excerpt of All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes . Possibly intended for inclusion in Letter to My Daughter .
The sixth volume of Angelou's autobiographies, originally published in 2002.
Alternative title included, "The Old Ark's A-Movering and I'm Going Home".
Sent to Random House on February 1, 2001, but includes revisions from 2002.
Photocopy faxed to Angelou from Robert Loomis on December 17, 2001.
Includes Bantam and Virago editions.
Includes one handwritten page and two typed pages with edits.
Arranged chronologically by publication date. Dates on individual folders indicate dates when material was written or revised.
Originally published in 1993.
Includes Ladies' Home Journal , July 1994, among others.
Includes jackets from Bantam and Virago.
Originally published in 1997.
Collaboration with the photographer Margaret Courtney-Clarke, originally published in 1994 by Clarkson Potter.
Second collaboration with the photographer Margaret Courtney-Clarke; published by Clarkson Potter in 1996.
Series illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell and published by Random House in 2004.
Includes handwritten and typed drafts with revisions and a dust jacket proof.
Early title was possibly "Yaaupi Utsi".
Includes various drafts, handwritten and typed, with revisions and a dust jacket proof.
Includes various drafts, handwritten (photocopies) and typed with edits, and a jacket proof.
Includes mostly typed drafts and jacket proof.
Published in 2005.
Includes various typed drafts.
Originally published by Random House in 2004.
Possibly used as a resource for the cookbook.
Possibly reworked for a later book.
Arranged chronologically by publication date into two sub-groups: (1) Collections and books and (2) Individually published poems (poems published in journals or magazines or written specifically for an organization or event).
Originally published by Random House in 1971.
Handwritten on yellow legal paper.
Includes proofs from Virago and Random House (for audio book).
Originally published by Random House in 1975.
Includes handwritten poem list, including "A Year", which eventually was not used in this collection.
Includes proofs from Random House for audiobook and later editions.
Originally published by Random House in 1978.
Mostly handwritten, but a few typed with handwritten edits.
Includes instructions about microphones and audience applause, so possibly recorded for radio or TV.
Includes proofs from Virago and Random House (for later editions).
Published by Random House in 2001.
Published by Random House in 1983.
Published by Random House in 1990.
Mostly handwritten, but a few typed versions with edits.
Also includes correpondence with Sid Shiff of the Limited Editions Club and catalog for Angelou's edition, which was one of the largest format editions, among other editions. Angelou's edition published in 1994.
Poem written for President William Jefferson Clinton's inauguration in 1993. Published by Random House in 1993.
Includes reprint in U.S. News and World Report , February 1, 1993, among others. Oversize version in box 168.
Includes versions in Spanish and Russian.
Published in 1993 and signed by Angelou in October 1995.
Paperback editions published by Bantam; includes poems from Angelou's first four collections.
Collaboration with the illustrator, Tom Feelings; originally published in 1987 by E. P. Dutton/Dial Books.
Published by Random House in 1994.
Also includes a Virago dust jacket mounted on cardboard and signed, presumably by Virago staff.
Four previously published poems, republished in this collection by Random House in 1995.
Includes the audiobook version and an edition of "Phenomenal Woman", the poem, with illustrations by Paul Gauguin (Random House, 2000).
Published by Random House in 2006. Most of the poems in this collection were published individually or elsewhere prior to inclusion in this book.
Early drafts have the title "Sons and Daughters".
Includes various drafts, handwritten and typed, and copyright registration.
Poem written, and delivered by Angelou, to commerate the 50th anniversary of the United Nations.
Includes various drafts, handwritten and typed.
Angelou wrote and read this poem for the Million Man March in Washington, DC, in 1995. She later reworked the poem for inclusion in Celebrations as "A Black Woman Speaks to Black Manhood".
Includes various drafts, handwritten and typed. Not all of the drafts are dated, so it is possible that these are only drafts for the version published in Celebrations .
Poem originally written for Oprah Winfrey's birthday.
Includes handwritten drafts, labeled "Mother Magic Hands", but most likely notes for "Mother", a poem written for Mother's Day in 2006.
Includes drafts, handwritten and typed, of "Ode to Ben Lear", a poem written for Angelou's nephew on the occasion of his Bar Mitzvah in 2001; "Prayer Vigil" from 2003; and the introduction to Celebrations . For publication in Celebrations , "Ode to Ben Lear" was reworked as "Ben Lear's Bat Mitzvah" and "Prayer Vigil" was renamed "Prayer" and "Vigil".
Includes typed drafts with edits for a reworked version of the original, which was originally written in 2005 for Tyler Perry's film, Madea's Family Reunion (2006). This poem is included in Celebrations , but it is unclear for what the 2008 reworked version was intended.
Includes poems published in Ladies' Home Journal , July 1983, and Essence , May 1995, among others.
Includes photocopies of the poem, which was published in Peacemaker , plus news articles about the poem, which was commissioned by the February One Society. Adaptation of poem published in Shaker, Why Don't You Sing? .
Originally written for the National Council of Negro Women but appears in later publications as "Black Family Reunion Pledge".
Includes various drafts, handwritten and typed, plus reprints in various publications, including The Orlando Times , July 18-24, 2002, among others.
Included in 17th Annual World Invitational Double Dutch Championship program.
Includes various drafts, handwritten and typed, for 1992 poem, which was written for John Singleton's film, Poetic Justice ; also includes revised version from 2008.
Written in 1995 for the "Reunion" episode of the television show, Touched by an Angel .
Includes typed drafts and printed copies; also includes a fax cover sheet.
Written for tribute to Ella Fitzgerald's sixty years in music, which was held at the Universal Ampitheatre in Los Angeles in 1995.
Includes various typed drafts, plus a revised version from 2008.
Written as a tribute to Princess Diana for The Guardian .
Originally written for Life Magazine's collector's edition, May 5, 1997.
Includes typed and handwritten drafts of original and revised version, "Moderation" (2007), and final version of original published in LIFE .
Written for Steven Spielberg's Millennium Project and performed by Angelou at the Washington, D.C. Millenium Celebration on December 31, 1999.
Includes various drafts (handwritten and typed) of the poem; correspondence with Spielberg and his company, Dreamworks; and meeting minutes.
Written for the National Urban League's 2002 brochure entitled, "Read and Rise".
Includes typed and handwritten drafts and a photocopy of the brochure.
Written (and delivered by Angelou) for the 2005 White House tree-lighting ceremony. Later published by Random House in booklet format.
Includes handwritten draft.
Written in collaboration with Wynton Marsalis; published by the Limited Editions Club with etchings by Dean Mitchell and an audio CD of Marsalis and Angelou performing.
Includes correspondence with Marsalis's office and various typed drafts of the poem.
According to an interview with Angelou, she was asked to write this poem by Susan Taylor of Essence Magazine. Scholastic. "Dr. Maya Angelou Interview: Angelou Discusses Her Inspiration for A Pledge to Rescue Our Youth ." scholastic.com. https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/videos/teaching-content/dr-maya-angelou-interview-angelou-discusses-her-inspiration-pledge-rescue-our-youth/
Includes typed photocopies.
Includes copies of the memorial service program.
Written for AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons)'s 50th anniversary.
Includes various typed drafts of the poem, correspondence, and information about AARP.
Commissioned by the U.S. Olympic Committee for the 2008 Olympics.
Written for Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign.
Includes handwritten and typed drafts.
Arranged chronologically, when material was written or revised (not necessarily when it was published).
Includes handwritten and typed drafts, notes, final article, and photocopied article.
Includes a photocopy of the article, which was published on April 16, 1972, and a photocopy of a response letter to the editor, which was published on May 14, 1972.
Review of Black Women in White America by Gerda Lerner.
Response to the question, to which Angelou replied "yes".
Includes handwritten draft and photocopied article.
Includes drafts (handwritten and typed), correspondence with the magazine, and final article copy.
Includes drafts (handwritten and typed), correspondence with the magazine, and the final article copy, which was published in the June 1975 issue.
Includes drafts (handwritten and typed) and a letter to the editor about Angelou's review.
Angelou wrote a series of articles for the magazine between 1975-1976.
Includes drafts (handwritten and typed), correspondence, research material, and final copies of certain articles.
Includes photocopies of the final article.
Includes drafts (handwritten and typed), correspondence with the magazine, and photocopied final article, which was printed in the February 1977 issue.
Includes photocopied article.
Includes original article and photocopy.
Includes typed drafts with handwritten edits, original article, and photocopied article.
Includes handwritten drafts, original article, and photocopied article.
Includes spiral notebook with handwritten notes from 1982; correspondence with Fisher; typed drafts; original article published in January 24, 1983, issue; photocopied article; and photocopy of letter from People Weekly reader.
Includes original oversized paper and photocopied article.
Includes handwritten and typed drafts, correspondence with the magazine, and final article copy.
Includes original article published in August 19, 1986, issue and reprint in The Complete Writer's Workout Book (D. C. Heath and Company, 1988).
This book includes papers delivered at a symposium on understanding evil held at the Institute for Humanities in Salado, Texas. This symposium also was the subject of the Bill Moyers PBS special, Facing Evil .
Includes handwritten draft and typescript of paper delivered and written by Angelou, and book catalog listing.
Includes drafts (handwritten and typed), correspondence with the magazine, and the final copy in the February 1989 issue.
Excerpt from Brian Lanker's 1989 book, I Dream a World: Portraits of Black Women who Changed America , which includes Angelou's foreword.
Includes proofs, various revisions, final article published in the August 1989 issue, and correspondence with the magazine.
Angelou wrote each of the essays for the 4 winners: Toni Morrison; Cathleen Black; Nancy Landon Kassebaum; and Judith L. Lichtman.
Includes draft fragments (handwritten) of Cathleen Black and Judith Lichtman essays, handwrittend draft of Nancy Kassebaum essay, and final program for awards ceremony, which includes each of the final essays.
Photocopy of article, which was a reprint of Angelou's essay on Morrison for the Sara Lee Frontrunner Awards program.
Includes typescripts, one with handwritten revisions from 1991, and final article in February 1992 issue.
Includes photocopy of the original article published on August 25, 1991; reprints in The Black Scholar , winter 1991-spring 1992, and the Winston-Salem Journal , August 31, 1991; and photocopies of response letters to Angelou about the article.
Includes typescript with handwritten revisions, proof, correspondence, and a cover proof; written for A Virago Keepsake 1973-1993 , published to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the publisher.
Typescript of article, published in November 1995 issue.
Originally delivered by Angelou at the 1997 Golden Anniversary celebration of the Horation Alger Association.
Angelou's contribution to the Estate Project for Artists with AIDS book edited by Edmund White in 2001.
Includes typed drafts, signed letter of agreement, correspondence with the Estate and editor, and final book.
Includes handwritten and typed drafts and final article copy from the March 2000 issue.
Includes handwritten and typed drafts, correspondence with the magazine, and the final article copy in the November 2002 issue.
Book was written for the 25th anniversary of New York Is Book Country and published in August 2003.
Angelou wrote a series of articles for the newspaper from 2005-2006.
Includes handwritten and typed drafts, two final columns from 2005, and a reworked version of a 2006 article.
Includes handwritten and typed drafts; a copy of Ivins's obituary; and a photocopy of Angelou's article, which was published on February 2, 2007.
Short story, possibly written in the early-mid-1960s, that was later published in John Henrik Clarke's book, Black American Short Stories: A Century of the Best (1993).
Includes a typescript fragment and a photocopy of a handwritten draft, both signed "Maya Make".
Arranged chronologically by date when material was written or revised, not necessarily by publication date.
Includes cast and song lists; a photocopied rehearsal schedule for August-September 1992; and a play synopsis, with dance numbers, for Jim Moon.
Production starred Clifton Davis, Ja'net DuBois, and Larry Leon Hamlin.
Brochure for the play's premiere, which was held December 16-18, 1983, at NCNB (North Carolina National Bank) Performance Place in Charlotte, North Carolina. Produced by GM Productions, it starred Berlinda Tolbert, Beth Grant, and Ron Dortch and was directed by Defoy Glenn, co-founder and executive producer of GM Productions.
Angelou read her own poems, including "Contemporary Announcement" and "One More Round", along with poems by others, over the course of a week in July 1988 on this BBC radio program.
Spiral notebook with handwritten dialogue for Angelou's screenplay, Georgia, Georgia , along with poem fragments, a draft of a letter, notes, and a scene list for I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings .
Audio script for the NBC series, Positively Black .
Five-part television miniseries for children, co-written with Angelou's son, Guy Johnson.
Sister Sister , a television series written and created by Angelou, was filmed at Old Ship Church in 1979; it did not actually air until 1982.
Includes two postcards signed by Angelou; additional blank postcards; a Lilly Baptist Church program; an Old Ship A.M.E. Zion Church program; and an Old Ship Bulletin from December 1923.
BBC documentary, written by Angelou, about being black in Britain.
Includes story outline draft (handwritten by Angelou); story outline typescript; and shoot schedule.
Brewster Place was a spin-off of The Women of Brewster Place ; Angelou wrote narration for some episodes and developed characters and stories.
Includes handwritten, first, and final drafts.
Includes various drafts of the poem that Angelou wrote for this public service announcement, which was directed by Christopher Reeve; correspondence; and shoot information.
Arranged chronologically when material was written or revised, not necessarily by date of publication.
Two songs co-written with Quincy Jones for B. B. King.
Includes typescripts of lyrics and sheet music with lyrics for "You Put It on Me".
Vinyl record released in 1969.
Includes typescripts (some photocopied) of poems used on the album. Most of these poems were later published in Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie... . Also includes a press release about Angelou from GWP Records, which was a subsidiary of Gerard W. Purcell Associates.
Angelou wrote three songs for Roberta Flack; "So It Goes" was included in Flack's album, Oasis (1988).
Includes handwritten drafts and typescripts for "So It Goes", "My Casual Eyes", and "Jealousy". Also includes the copyright registrations for each of these songs plus a contract with Flack for "So It Goes".
King was a musical based on the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. Angelou wrote the lyrics with Alistair Beaton, and Richard Blackford wrote the music. The first performance took place at the Piccadilly Theatre on April 7, 1990; it was directed by Clarke Peters and starred Simon Estes and Cynthia Haymon.
Box 175, Folder 8 includes the Picadilly Theatre's playbill and a letter to Dolly (McPherson) from "Doreen". The oversized boxes 176-177 contain sheet music for the various songs incluidng "They're After Your Vote" and "Love Lasts, It's All That Lasts", among others. Most include the full scores without lyrics and contain handwritten edits.
Collaboration with Ashford and Simpson released in 1996 by Hopsack and Silk Records.
Includes handwritten drafts of various songs.
Faxed typescripts of lyrics for the musical. Lyrics faxed in 1996 but probably written in 1992 or earlier.
woman.life.song was commissioned in honor of the birthday of Marie-Josée Kravis. The first performance occurred on March 22, 2000, at Carnegie Hall with Jessye Norman and the Orchestra of St. Luke's. Angelou, Toni Morrison, and Clarissa Pinkola Estés each wrote two texts to accompany the music.
Includes typescripts of Angelou's texts and the final score book with texts inserted.
Angelou contributed a spoken-word composition to this album of songs performed by female vocalists including Jennifer Holliday, Dionne Warwick, and Patti LaBelle, among others. Produced by Tena Clark.
Includes handwritten and typed drafts of Angelou's poem; correspondence with the producer and lawyers; and a contract.
The Country Bunny ballet was adapted from Dubose Heyward's children's book, The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes (1939). It was to be executive produced by Ismail Merchant. Angelou was to be the librettist and Richard Robbins was to be the composer. It is unclear if the show was actually produced.
Includes a proposal for the show, a contract for Angelou, correspondence, and a flyer.
The African Review was a monthly journal published in Ghana. Angelou was the features editor.
Photocopy of the entire issue.
Proofs for the book, which includes an excerpt from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings .
Angelou wrote the introduction to this book which was published by Glide Publications in 1975.
Includes correspondence with the editors, prologue by the editors, and a typescript of Angelou's introduction.
Angelou wrote the foreword for this exhibition catalog sponsored by the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento.
Includes photocopies of the catalog cover and Angelou's foreword.
Angelou contributed to this anthology, by Amiri and Amina Baraka.
Includes the William Morrow and Company's book cover.
Booklet published by the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation in 1985.
Includes typed draft with handwritten edits and the final booklet with Angelou's introduction.
Angelou wrote the introduction for this book, with portraits by Elliot Schneider and published by Shearson Lehman Brothers.
Includes final book.
Angelou wrote the foreword for this book by Brian Lanker; it also was included in National Geographic , vol. 176, #2 (see box 172, folder 10).
Includes correspondence, handwritten and typed drafts, and a galley proof.
Angelou wrote the foreword for this edition of Ellen Conroy-Kennedy's book, published in 1993.
Includes a typescript draft with edits, dated December 1988.
Angelou wrote the foreword for this book, which was published by Willamette University Press in 1989.
Includes typed and handwritten drafts and correspondence.
Series of poems collected by the church.
Includes faxed typescript.
Angelou wrote the foreword for this book, which was published by Rizzoli in 1990.
Includes photocopy of final foreword.
Angelou wrote the foreword for this anthology pubished by SAGE Women's Educational Press in 1991.
Includes handwritten and typed drafts and final copy.
Angelou wrote the preface for this book edited by Harry A. Wilmer and published in 1992.
Includes typescript of preface, correspondence, and table of contents.
Includes photocopied final version for the 1992 edition published by Ian Randle Publishers.
Includes original program.
Includes typescript and correspondence from 1993; book was published in 1996.
Includes typescript and correspondence.
Angelou wrote the foreword for this Spelman College-sponsored exhibition catalog which was published in 1996.
Includes handwritten and typed drafts, correspondence, and final book cover.
Angelou wrote the introduction for this restored text edition, which was published in 2010.
Includes typed draft with edits.
Includes book cover.
Angelou contributed an essay to this book about the creation of Steven Spielberg's film, Amistad , which was published by Newmarket Press in 1999.
Includes correspondence and proof of Angelou's essay.
Angelou wrote the introduction and afterword for the Limited Editions Club's version of Langston Hughes's Sunrise Is Coming After While .
Includes publicity sheet from the Limited Editions Club.
Includes handwritten and typed drafts with revisions.
Angelou wrote the foreword for this book, published by the Enrichment Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 2002.
Includes handwritten and typed drafts and correspondence.
Angelou wrote the foreword for this book, published in 2000. The foreword was republished in the playbill for Crowns , a play adapted from Cunningham and Marberry's book by Regina Taylor and produced in 2004.
Includes handwritten and typed drafts, a copy of the 2004 playbill, and a bookmark advertising the play.
Includes various handwritten and typed drafts.
Angelou wrote the introduction in 2000 but the book was published in 2002.
Includes typed drafts with edits.
Includes correspondence with the author and a typed drafts with revisions.
Angelou wrote the introduction for the book, which was published in 2003. She recorded the introduction for the audio book version in October 2002.
Includes introduction script, correspondence, and audio recording information.
Celia Cruz's autobiography.
Includes typescript with handwritten edits.
Includes handwritten and typed drafts and final approved version from July 2004 (book was not published until 2007).
NALAA is now the Americans for the Arts. The published speech, on the Americans for the Arts website, is entitled, "The Role of Art in Life".
Photocopied typescript.
James Baldwin died on December 1, 1987, in southern France. On December 8, a memorial service was held in his honor at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, and Amiri Baraka delivered tributes which were later published in The New York Times on December 20, 1987. Angelou's tribute was also published in The Los Angeles Times .
Includes photocopies of both The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times articles.
Angelou's lecture was delivered on March 20, 1990, in Washington, DC. It was subsequently published by the American Council for the Arts in its publication, ACA Update . It was also excerpted in American Theatre 's October 1991 issue.
Includes handwritten and typed drafts; a one-page excerpt of the lecture published by the American Council for the Arts; and the October 1991 issue of American Theatre .
Includes copy of The Challenge of Creative Leadership , edited by Gottlieb Guntern; book includes select presenters' talks from various years of the symposia. Inscribed to Angelou from Guntern in 1997.
This talk was delivered by Angelou at the Horatio Alger Association's Golden Anniversary celebration during the 1997 Awards Activities in Washington, DC, and subsequently published in the 1997 issue of The Forum .
Includes the 1997 issue of The Forum and correspondence.
This speech is a reworked version of "I Rise!"; it was recited by Angelou at the 1999 opening ceremony.
Includes a reworked version (photocopied typescripts with handwritten revisions) for Maria Shriver to recite at the inauguration of Arnold Schwarzenegger as governor of California in 2003.
Includes two index cards with the poem, "Frederick Douglass" by Robert Hayden, printed on one side. On the other of one card, there is a handwritten paragraph which seems to be for a speech. Angelou is listed in the ceremony's program, which also is included, as reciting an original poem, but it is unclear if she did or if she recited the Hayden poem.
Angelou testified about racial minorities in the media.
Photocopied transcript.
Mostly typescripts and proofs with handwritten edits.
Arranged into 10 subgroups: (1) Poetry; (2) Articles and essays; (3) Books; (4) Short stories; (5) Scripts; (6) Lyrics; (7) Forewords and other contributions; (8) Speeches and lectures; (9) Tributes; and (10) Other.
Typescript draft of poem. Unclear if it was written by Angelou.
Written for Quincy Jones's album, Q's Jook Joint , but does not appear to have been included.
Summit held in 1997 under President Clinton's administration.
Includes various drafts, handwritten and typed, and fax correspondence.
Written for the winter Olympics in Salt Lake City but unclear if it was published.
Written for anthology edited by Lissette Norman and Willie Perdomo, possibly published in 2003 as Making Jazz Swing in Seventeen Syllables .
Includes photocopy of handwritten draft and letter from the editors.
Includes handwritten draft and typescript. Unclear if ever published.
Handwritten draft most likely intended as a dedication for a new park. Notes at the top state, "Brick Build MRI Center".
Some of the fragments are indicated as published, while others were found with published material.
Even though some of these articles include correspondence with editors and publishers, it is not entirely evident that they have been published.
Angelou lived and worked in Cairo with Vus Make in the early 1960s.
Includes typescripts titled "News Talk" and signed "Maya Make".
Angelou also lived and worked in Ghana from 1963-1966; many of these articles may have been written for the Ghanaian Times .
Includes mostly typed drafts with handwritten revisions, some on onion skin paper. Most of the articles have titles and a byline that reads "Maya Angelou Make" or "Maya Make". There is one letter, written on Permanent Mission of Ghana to the United Nations letterhead, which may or may not have been written by Angelou. She may have written it on behalf of the man she referred to as her husband, Vus Make.
Wills's article was published in Esquire , March 1968.
Includes photocopied galley and letter from KQED, plus a partial handwritten draft.
Written for The New York Times but does not appear to have been published.
Includes typed drafts, correspondence with Robert Chrisman (editor), and background information on Shockley's book.
Includes typed drafts of the article and correspondence with the magazine.
Includes various drafts (handwritten and typed) and correspondence with the editor of the magazine.
Possibly written for Playgirl .
Handwritten notes in a small black daily planner, monogrammed with Angelou's name.
Angelou wrote a few articles for this anthology, which was published by the Center for the Study of Contemporary Belief.
Includes handwritten draft and typed copy, written for Ch. 4 News in Great Britain.
Includes typed article addressed to Pace Magazine/Piedmont.
Includes handwritten drafts in spiral notebook and typescripts.
Written for House and Garden but unclear if ever published.
Two-page handwritten drafts.
Typescript with handwritten revisions, labeled "version 3".
Includes various handwritten and typed drafts and correspondence.
Typescript with handwritten revisions.
Includes various typed drafts with revisions and correspondence.
Includes various handwritten and typed drafts, plus a informational sheet on the project, which was sponsored by the NAACP.
Includes handwritten and typed drafts and email correspondence.
Possibly written for Hallmark Magazine.
Includes typed drafts with handwritten revisions.
Includes handwritten drafts.
Possibly written for the Booksellers Association.
Includes typescripts, one with handwritten revisions.
Handwritten draft, possibly written for a library brochure.
Handwritten and typed.
Includes drafts and proposals for books, including children's books, that were never published.
Includes correspondence and background information on Kelly.
Includes handwritten and typed drafts of three stories, "Mai Lin", "Manjusha", and "Igor", possibly meant as future editions of Maya's World .
Includes poems and essays that were intended for another collection, To Have the Heart to Hope , which possibly became Letter to My Daughter .
Includes typescripts for chapters 1-7, plus an alternate chapter 1.
Possibly intended for Playgirl .
Includes two handwritten pages, photocopied typescript from Wake Forest University's Rare Book Collection, and reworked typescript from 2006.
Includes handwritten and typed pages; some indications of chapters, so this manuscript might have been intended as a book.
Includes handwritten and typed pages.
Arranged chronologically (not subdivided by type of script), then alphabetically for undated material.
Handwritten and typed pages, the latter on onionskin.
Typescript on pink paper with handwritten revisions.
Photocopies of handwritten drafts.
Project proposed by James Griewe, director of the Sonoma Valley Chorale, for the company's secular concert. Angelou wrote the narration, which she was to perform, for a segment of the concert.
Includes typed drafts of the narration, correspondence with Griewe, and photocopied sheet music by Neil Diamond from the 1973 film on Seagull.
One handwritten page and additional photocopied handwritten pages.
Includes various drafts, typed and handwritten.
Includes handwritten and typed notes and narration.
Two-page synopsis for a musical, film, or television series.
Typescript, with handwritten revisions, for Act I, Scene II, of this "three act drama".
Typed and handwritten draft of a script for film or television.
Eighty-four page typescript of screenplay based on the book, The Diary of A. N. , by Julius Horwitz.
One page typescript for theater or film.
Includes spiral notebook with handwritten script and typescript for film or television.
Mostly handwritten notes and script for a television pilot.
Handwritten drafts, the very last of which is dated 2007.
Includes handwritten and typed lyrics and correspondence.
Possibly written for Roberta Flack.
Includes handwritten notes and correspondence from the music publisher.
Possibly published on one of Reese's albums.
Includes handwritten notes.
Includes typescript and notes on index cards.
Includes telegram from Anderson to the editor of the magazine and Angelou's handwritten notes on index cards.
Includes draft typescript on yellow paper with handwritten revisions.
Includes typescript and mention in Montclair State's Vision , vol. 1, #2.
Includes correspondence and typescript of Angelou's introduction, talk, and discussion.
Includes typescript for message delivered by Jones at unknown summit.
Includes photocopied handwritten draft.
Includes typescript with handwritten correction.
Angelou delivered this address to her niece's (Rosa Johnson's) graduating class.
Includes faxed and photocopied transcript.
Mostly handwritten drafts.
Includes typescripts, one of which is a faxed copy with handwritten revisions.
Possibly written for the celebration held in King's honor in 1993, for which Angelou was an honorary chair.
Includes photocopied typescript.
Handwritten draft with note that it was to read by M. J. Hewitt.
Most likely delivered at Shabazz's memorial service.
Photocopied typescript with handwritten revisions.
Includes handwritten and typed drafts for Rosa Guy, Frederick Buechner, Amiri Baraka, and Peter Perret, among others. Also includes a recommendation for Wole Soyinka for the Newstead Prize.
Includes one letter to the editors of New York Magazine, from 1970, among others.
Angelou was a member of the Harlem Writers Guild.
Includes handwritten notes, one page of which refers to a meeting about a Jo (presumably, Josephine) Baker script.
Includes mostly undated, handwritten notes; these notes include various lists of favorite books and authors, reminders, and contact information. In addition, there are a number of programs from Mt. Zion Baptist Church with Angelou's handwritten notes.
Includes a second page of a handwritten letter from Angelou; it references a screenplay that she has written for a movie to be shot in Sweden, presumably Georgia, Georgia .
This subseries consists of drafts, galleys, proofs, and final versions of other people's work, a heading utilized by Angelou; it also includes some correspondence, either from the authors or publishers. Some of this work is from friends and colleagues looking for advice or comments from Angelou. Other work is sent by publishers, looking for quotes or comments from Angelou. In addition, there is some work that was sent to Angelou as complimentary gifts, while some writing was possibly used by Angelou as research or reference for her writing or teaching (most likely, many of the older photocopied articles and book excerpts). In a few cases, Angelou contributed to the work, as in Michael Cunningham's Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats , for which she wrote the foreword. Finally, a few items were written about Angelou, such as introductions for some of her public appearances, and others were by or about friends or colleagues, such as a review of Rosa Guy's work.
Arranged first alphabetically by author's last name or publication title, and then chronologically by publication date or date when material was written.
J.D. thesis, Wake Forest University of Law.
Photocopied overview for a five-part series for public television from WGBH and The American Experience .
Series of letters written to Alexander from HALC, possibly for a book. Probably photocopies; includes a letter to "Nell" explaining the letters and a chronological timeline.
Photocopied poems with correspondence from Amana.
HBO film based on short stories by Angelou and others.
Includes typescript for paper and correspondence from Amoaku.
Includes typescript and letter from Amos.
Includes first batch of edited copy from Time-Life Books for the second volume of a three-volume set.
Includes handwritten notes, seven-page typescript of chapter 17, and photocopied printer's proofs.
Includes various songs for a musical drama, Bomong .
Includes photocopied playscript.
Includes revised introduction and chapter 19 (photocopies) and correspondence.
Booklet form of Baraka's eulogy for James Baldwin, which was delivered in 1987.
Email printout.
Includes script, sheet music, and lyrics for opera with music by Raymond Wise and libretto by Les Epstein.
Published by the Seek Program, Medgar Evers College.
Includes two versions of the typescript.
Inscribed by the author.
Includes correspondence, revised draft, and reprinted excerpt from Argonaut , new series #1.
Poem by Georgia Douglas Johnson and music by Lillian Evanti.
Inscribed by "Richard" in 1982.
Photocopies of select sections.
Signed and dated by the author (twice) on the last page.
Typed copy.
Oversized typescript; translated by Eric Bentley.
Includes two scripts for this television miniseries and correspondence.
Inscription states, "Book belongs to Maya Angelou, Los Angeles, Calif., 1979".
Includes printed matter on Brussell.
Inscribed by author.
Includes fax cover sheet from 2000.
Includes correspondence from publisher.
Includes letter from publisher.
Campbell was one of the winners.
Includes correspondence, draft proposal, and notes for documentary series.
Typescript; unknown author and/or speaker.
Includes typescripts of various poems with a table of contents; inscribed by the author.
Includes draft and correspondence from publisher.
Typescript of Master's thesis.
Includes inscribed copies of Selected Remarks by William Jefferson Clinton and Farewell Remarks , among others.
Includes signed copy and letter.
One poem inscribed and another signed.
Based on the book by Alan Paton.
Unbound copy without Angelou's introduction.
Includes letter from author.
Inscribed copy.
Includes letter from the publisher.
Unknown author.
Includes correspondence and inscribed typescript.
Includes letter and poem by Dryansky.
Typescript for thirty-minute television comedy; includes various drafts.
Includes letter from the publisher, The Amistad Committee.
Inscribed by Dulaney.
Includes letter from Dumas.
Includes offprinted article and correspondence.
Photocopied articles from The Atlantic Monthly (August 1983) and The College Board Review (Spring 1984), respectively.
Typescript written for the 103rd anniversary of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in 1992.
Includes Angelou's poem, "I Love the Look of Words".
Also includes correspondence from publisher.
Handwritten poem on index card.
Includes typescript draft and correspondence.
Includes letter from Decca (Jessica Mitford).
Includes "A Life of Learning" (ACLS cccasional paper, #4, April 1988); "W. E. B. DuBois: A Personal Memoir" (reprint from The Massachusetts Review , vol. 31, #3, August 1990); "Vintage Years: The First Decade" (31st Cosmos Club Award, April 7, 1994); and "For Better, for Worse", written with his wife, Aurelia Elizabeth.
Includes photocopied typescripts of poems and correspondence from the author.
Includes typescripts and correspondence.
Includes photocopied draft and correspondence.
Includes brochure for the book, which consists of an excerpt from chapter one.
Includes draft copies and correspondence from Cecil Williams asking Angelou to write the foreword (not included here).
Includes review copy and correspondence from publisher.
Includes unedited photocopy inscribed by Guy.
Exclusive property of the Estate of Alex Haley.
Includes script of speech and letter from Haley.
Speech delivered in the Senate in reply to one by William H. Seward on the admission of Kansas as a state.
Includes photocopied reprint and typed copy.
Also includes letter from publisher.
Angelou was to have written a foreword, but it is not included in this draft.
Includes letter from publisher and mechanicals.
Also includes order form from publisher.
Includes autographed copy of book and press material.
Includes typescripts and letter from author.
Includes typed speech and letter.
Inscribed by Nathaniel R. Jones, one of the authors, in 2000.
Includes photocopy of paper and letter from author.
Includes typescripts, some with handwritten edits, of Naomi Chamberlain's review of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (October 1970); an interview with Richard Ballad, ca. 1971; an interview with Curt Davis called "Maya Angelou: Living a Good One", ca. 1974-1975; an unknown interview about Georgia, Georgia ; and an interview with Perspectives , ca. 1975
Handwritten.
Also includes letter from author.
Published in 1998.
Published in 2002.
Includes typescripts of various poems and foreword drafts, written by Angelou (typed with handwritten revisions).
Inscribed by author in 2004.
Includes letter from Barbara Skinner; poetry collection is inscribed by author to Skinner.
Includes inscribed booklet, correspondence, and a quote from Angelou about the book.
Includes typed poems, all signed by Powell; two of the poems contain original drawings. One poem is dedicated to Angelou. Also includes correspondence.
Inlcudes photocopies, marked as "copy 1".
Includes torn page from a book, possibly My Name Is Afrika .
Includes correspondence and paper includes an interview with Angelou.
Includes "The Search for E. Pluribus Unum" and "A Way Out of No Way" and correspondence.
Includes uncorrected proof and correspondence with publisher.
Also includes correspondence and promotional material.
Includes ripped page from a book signed "Love Aunt Marguerite" so possibly from Angelou.
Includes photocopies of various published articles including "Challenge to Negro Leadership: The Case of Robert Williams", among others.
Includes articles about Miles Davis (one photocopy and one original).
Includes photocopied proofs and letter from publisher.
Includes letter to McPherson and typescript of introduction.
Includes correspondence and typescript of article published in World Journal .
Includes letter from Meriwether.
Includes photocopied chapter and letter from sender.
Includes correspondence and photocopied and original articles.
Includes typescript of statement and photocopied article about the case written by Mitford and published in the Los Angeles Times , February 15, 1981.
Includes handwritten song in French, "The Bride's Song", and typed song, "The Life and Times of Dobby", written with her husband, Bob Treuhaft.
This issue includes two essays about Angelou.
Photocopy of Italian original.
Includes handwritten dedication to Angelou from Ohin.
Handwritten music and lyrics (in another language) by unknown composer.
Also includes correspondence.
Includes correspondence.
Manuscript copy without Angelou's introduction.
Article references I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings .
Includes unedited manuscript and correspondence.
In honor of Angelou's 80th birthday.
Inscribed by Redmond.
Typescript of address given at UCLA in the fall of 1966.
Includes drafts of poems from contributing editors and writers from various countries and cities; Redmond was probably the editor of the volume, which was to have an introduction written by Angelou.
Photocopy of poem published by American Women for Peace and given to Angelou by Richardson in 1966.
Includes correspondence, printer's rough pages without Angelou's foreword, and promotional material.
Introductory essay by Coretta Scott King.
Includes handwritten notes by Angelou on the backs of some pages.
Angelou's copy of the playscript, probably from the 1960s.
Mostly typed pages with handwritten edits; possibly includes a page of notes from Angelou.
Inscribed by Mela Kumar in 1995.
Includes letter requesting Angelou to write a foreword.
Possibly for Black Women Writers at Work , published in 1984.
Includes letter that refers to the "collection".
Includes correspondence that indicates an interview with Angelou will be added to the book.
Mostly includes typed copies of poems by such writers as Edna St. Vincent Millay and Eva Jessye, but also includes poems by unknown authors.
Form contains a few poems.
Marked "Maya A. Make" so possibly Angelou's copy from the 1960s.
Includes correspondence from Robinson.
Arranged into five subseries: (1) Appearances and engagements; (2) Hallmark collaboration; (3) Office files; (4) Teaching files; and (5) Subject files.
Most of this material consists of printed matter, such as newspaper clippings, performance and lecture programs, meeting minutes, and conference programs. The academic subgroup includes Angelou's appearances as a commencement speaker, lecturer, and conference participant. The non-academic subgroup includes appearances at awards ceremonies and tributes; addresses at various organization's anniversary celebrations; appearances at memorial services; and festival participation, among others. Angelou was a member of various organizations' Board of Directors, Advisory Boards, and Advisory Councils, including the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration's Advisory Council, the Presidential Delegation to the Inauguration of Nelson Mandela as President of South Africa, and the Maya Angelou Research Center on Minority Health (MARCH) at Wake Forest University's Advisory Board. In a few cases, since she was involved with numerous organizations, she was an honorary member or a member in name only. The conferences and symposia subgroup includes events that occurred outside of an academic setting, such as the National Coalition Against Sexual Assault 7th Annual Conference. The performances subgroup consists of Angelou's participation in an event as a poet, actress, director, dancer, or singer.
Arranged into five subgroups: (1) Academic; (2) Non-academic; (3) Boards and committees; (4) Conferences and symposia; and (5) Performances.
Arranged alphabetically by institution name.
Includes Agnes Scott College, Alabama State University, and Arkansas State University, among others.
Includes commencement script from 2003.
Includes 1991 contract for appearance.
Includes Bakersfield College, Ball State University, Barber-Scotia College, Berkeley Hall School, Bakersfield College, Binghamton University, Bluefield State College, Boise State University, Boston College, Boston University, Bowdoin College, Bradley University, Bridgewater College, Brigham Young University, Brookhaven College, Broward Community College, and Bergen Community College.
Includes Cal State, Los Angeles; Cal State, Northridge; Cal State, Chico; and Cal State, Sacramento.
Includes Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute; Cape Cod Community College; Carver High School; Case Western Reserve University; Castlemont High School; Cate School; Cedar Crest College; Central Carolina Technical Institute; Centenary College; Cleveland State University; Coastline Community College; College of DuPage; College of Lake County; Columbia University; Connecticut College; and Covenant College.
Includes Dartmouth College; Dekalb College (now Perimeter College at Georgia State University); Delta College; Denison University; and Douglass College, Rutgers University.
Includes Emerson College; Emory University; and Everett Community College.
Includes Fresno State College; Frostburg State College; Foothill College; Florida State University; Fairleigh Dickinson University; and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.
Includes George Mason University; Georgia State University; and Georgia Institute of Technology.
Includes Hampton University; Henderson State University; Hendrix College; Hood College; Hope High School; and Hopkins School District.
Includes correspondence, conference program, and printed matter.
Includes conference programs, correspondence, printed matter on ISO and Switzerland, and a transcript of Angelou's talk in German.
Includes Iowa State University; Indian River Community College; and Indiana University, Bloomington.
Includes Jackson High School; James Madison University; Jersey City State College; and Johnson County Community College.
Includes Keystone Junior College and Kenyon College.
Includes Langston University; Lewis University; Lincoln University; Los Angeles City College; Louisiana State University; and Lynchburg College.
Angelou delivered the commencement address and received an honorary degree.
Includes Mackenzie High School; Marquette University; Mary Washington College; Miami Univeristy, Middletown; Miami-Dade Community College; Michigan State University; Milton Academy; and Mount St. Mary's College.
Includes correspodence with Jayne Cortez on behalf of the Organization of Women Writers of Africa.
Also includes North Carolina A and T State University and North Carolina Central University.
Includes Norfolk State University; Northern Illinois University; Northwestern State University; and Nova Southeastern University.
Includes Oregon State University; Ohio State University; Ohio University; and OIC Vocational Institute.
Includes Principia College, Pratt Institute, and Purdue University.
Includes commencement address.
Includes Saddleback Community College; Saginaw Valley State University; Saint Mary's College High School; Salem College; San Francisco State University; Sandhills Community College; Santa Rosa Junior College; Sonoma State College; Southeastern Louisiana University; Stanford University; Steele Indian School; Stockton State College; Sweet Briar College; Southern Methodist University; South Mountain Community College; St. Paul's Episcopal School; and St. Scholastica Academy.
Includes Tarrant City Junior College; Texas Christian University; Texas Southern University; Trenton State College; Trinity College of Vermont; and Trinity University.
Includes UC Berkeley; UC Santa Cruz; UC Extension; and UC Irvine.
Includes University of Missouri-Columbia and University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Includes UNC Greensboro; UNC Asheville; UNC Wilmington; and UNC Charlotte.
Includes University of Tennessee, Knoxville and Chattanooga.
Includes UT Dallas, UT Austin, and UT Arlington.
Includes UW-River Falls; UW-Eau Claire; UW-Milwaukee; and UW-Madison.
Includes University of Arizona; University of Arkansas-Monticello; University of Georgia; University of Hawai'i; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; University of Michigan; University of North Texas; University of Northern Iowa; University of Pennsylvania; University of Pittsburgh; University of Puget Sound; University of Rhode Island; University of San Diego; USC-Coastal Carolina College; University of Southern California; University of Southwestern Louisiana; University of South Carolina at Spartanburg; ; and Ursinus College.
Includes Valparaiso University and Villanova University.
Includes commencement program from 1981 in which Angelou delivered the address and received an honorary degree.
Includes 1984 commencement program, in which Angelou delivered the address and received an honorary degree; material on her 70th birthday celebration, held at the university in 1998; and programs for "Dr. Maya Angelou Day" in 2002.
Includes Walsh College; Washington University in St. Louis; Wayne State University; Wesleyan University; West Georgia College; Wheelock College; and Wichita State Universityd .
Organized by event name or sponsor.
Includes introductory text for 1994 event.
Includes Annual Breast Cancer Awareness Weekend and Arts and Science Council, among others.
Includes Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame and BBC Radio, among others.
Includes ceremony scripts.
Celebration of Richard Long; Angelou sent remarks to be read.
Includes inscribed program.
Includes script; narration by Angelou.
Includes "Celebration of Poetry, Wit, Survival" at Round Table West (1978); Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression; CARE International Humanitarian Award reception; and "A Celebration of Community", County of Summit Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board, among others.
Includes talking points.
Includes Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and Detroit Community Health Connection, among others.
Includes Edinburgh Book Festival; "An Expo for Today's Black Woman"; and the Edmonton Journal Unique Lives and Experiences Lecture Series.
Roundtable discussion.
Includes the Factory (London); the Free Library in Logan Square; and the Forsyth County Democratic Party dinner, among others.
Public service announcement narration.
Includes the Grand Rapids Public Library and the Gerontological Society of America, among others.
Includes Houston Downtown Alliance and Habitat for Humanity, among others.
Angelou was participant in public events and distinguished guest.
Includes Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, among others.
Includes JUBILEE!, among others.
Includes Ken Free Scholarship Fund and Kids Who Read!, among others.
Includes the Larry Neal Cultural Series and Literacy Volunteers of New York City, among others.
Includes notes by Angelou.
Includes an introduction of Angelou by Dolly McPherson for 1989 event.
Includes "Moving Up" benefit for Advocates for Women (1981) and Mustard Seed Communities' reception, "A Season of Peace" (2002), among others.
Includes programs for events at various NAACP branches.
Includes adaptation of conversation between Angelou and editor.
Video interview.
Includes New Federal Theatre's 30th Anniversary dinner (2001) and National Visionary Leadership Project video interview, among others.
Includes Oakland Museum event, among others.
Includes People for the American Way and Petaluma People Services Center events, among others.
In collaboration with various clergy in the Winston-Salem area, Angelou organized this event, which collected water and monetary donations for medical supplies in order to be sent to Rwanda.
Includes Rochester Arts and Lectures and "Read and Rise", among others.
Includes Sacramento Public Library and San Francisco Public Library, among others.
Angelou was honorary chairperson of the event.
Angelou was co-host of the event.
Angelou was co-emcee of the rally at the Lincoln Memorial.
Includes an event at Tuskegee Institute and TEMPO Madison's 20th Anniversary, among others.
Also includes transcript of interview with Angelou.
Includes WFDD Public Radio's "Love the Arts" Festival and the Woodruff Arts Center's Campaign Kickoff, among others.
Angelou participated in this PBS special on the 2000 census.
Includes Youth and Family Center and You Beautiful Black Woman (YBBW) events.
Includes Zonta Club of Dallas I and 5th Annual Zora Neale Hurston Festival events.
Dates listed are dates of materials, not necessarily Angelou's terms of service.
Arranged alphabetically by organization name.
Includes various drafts, correspondence, notes, final version, and response.
Angelou founded this nonprofit organization, presumably named after her grandmother and uncle. She served as the chairperson of the Board of Directors and Guy Johnson as the vice-chair.
Includes application for nonprofit status, meeting minutes, draft brochure, and survey responses.
This organization was founded by Robert J. Brown and Angelou's role is not entirely evident; she might have been a co-founder or consultant.
Angelou's role is not entirely clear; she might have served as a liasion between the students and the EPA.
Includes handwritten letters from Ghanian students, ages 7-12, requesting books and posters from the organization.
Corporation started by Robert J. Brown, Angelou, and George Faison; FAB stands for the initials of their last names.
Also includes service on the North Carolina branch of the Association.
Angelou was possibly a member.
Also includes material related to the African-American Leadership Retreat.
Includes material on the Maya Angelou Women Who Lead Luncheon, the Maya Angelou Tribute to Achievement, and Angelou's role as the state chairperson for special gifts.
Also includes groundbreaking ceremony program.
Also includes material related to various fundraising activities.
This subsection includes conferences and symposia outside of academic settings.
Arranged alphabetically by sponsoring organization name or title of conference.
Includes Association of College Unions-International and Atlanta Black Nurses' Association conferences, among others.
Includes the Council for Advacment and Support of Education Conference and the Common Boundary Conference, among others.
Includes the Festival Panafricain des Arts et Cultures (FESPAC International) and Foundations for a Brighter Future conference, among others.
Includes HRA Seminar Series at the National Black Theatre Institute and Honeywell Women's Council conference, among others.
Includes International Association for Religious Freedom Congress, among others.
Includes Juneteenth Roundtable Dialogue and Louisiana Association for Developmental Education Conference.
Includes the Millenium Peace Conference, among others.
Includes annual conventions of National Association of Commissions for Women and National Council of Teachers of English, among others.
Includes Religious Education Congress and Success Soul conference, among others.
Includes WomenVenture Conference and YWCA National Convention, among others.
This subgroup includes documents related to Angelou's appearances in films, television, and radio, as a narrator, actor, director, or writer; additionally, it consists of materials related to her appearances reading or performing her poetry. This material includes event programs, newspaper and magazine clippings, correspondence, contracts, and scripts.
Arranged alphabetically by title of show, film, or event.
Angelou was the host of this PBS biography series from the Horatio Alger Association.
Includes transcript of Angelou's conversation with Nell Painter.
BBC Scotland documentary.
Angelou read "Life Doesn't Frighten Me" for a children's album with proceeds donated to children's HIV/AIDS organizations.
Angelou's residency lasted four days; during the first two days, she performed a one-woman show. During the last two days, she collaborated with Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble.
Angelou appears to have been a guest, anticipating her collaboration with the duo later that year ( Been Found ).
Includes a performance at the benefit concert for the Angela Davis Defense Fund in 1972, among others.
Angelou participated in this documentary on the history of Greenwich Village.
Includes script for the segment narrated by Angelou.
Includes draft script of narration.
Includes photocopies of Showbill , listing Maya Angelou Make as the Queen.
Includes script for the narration of "Outskirts of Hope", which possibly aired on December 24, 1981, and a shoot schedule for her commentary on free speech in 2006.
Includes outlines for a cable televison special; unclear if it ever aired.
Angelou was the host of this radio program in which various writers, actors, critics, and performers were interviewed or recorded in conversation on stage.
Includes Angelou's introductory scripts.
Includes Angelou's participation in the "Flameworthy" Video Music Awards; narration of "100 Greatest Songs of Faith"; and interview for the documentary, "100 Greatest Songs of Country Music".
Includes a transcript of Angelou's conversation with Oprah Winfrey for The Oprah Winfrey Show and a program for "Celebration of Phenomenal Women" at Carnegie Music Hall, among others.
Angelou directed this film.
Includes a Discovery Channel PSA, among others.
Includes script.
Angelou was a reader for one of the episodes.
Includes performance at the Hult Center, in Eugene, Oregon, among others.
Angelou spoke with comedian Dave Chappelle in an episode of the show.
Angelou narrated this 1995 film, which was based on a novel by John Ehle.
Includes Angelou's participation in "Jessye Norman Sings for the Healing of Aids", among others.
Includes scripts for Who Cares About Kids? and Kindred Spirits: Contemporary African-American Artists , both videos for public television.
Angelou starred as Sojourner Truth in this educational series for television.
Angelou read this story by Romare Bearden for Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers.
Angelou interviewed authors, including Amiri Baraka, Rosa Guy, and Joyce Carol Oates, at the Algonquin Hotel for this public television series.
Includes scripts.
Angelou costarred as Elizabeth Keckley, alongside Geraldine Page as Mary Todd Lincoln, in this two-act play by Jerome Kilty.
Includes Playbill .
Angelou directed this play by Joyce Carol Thomas and starring Odetta.
Includes performance brochure.
Angelou narrated this documentary about the abolitionist and editor Elijah Lovejoy; it was written and directed by Robert Tabscott.
Angelou was the host of this series for Detroit Public Television, which focused on different American cultures.
Includes various script drafts by Guy Johnson.
Angelou directed the play, written by Errol John, in London at the Almeida Theatre.
Includes notes by Angelou in a yellow legal pad; handwritten draft of a thank you to the cast and crew; a template for a rejection letter to actors who auditioned; and playbills.
Includes two copies of CenterPiece , the monthly program magazine of UNC Center for Public Television, with listings for two Bill Moyers's specials, Moyers: A Second Look (1989) and Moyers: 20th Anniversary Retrospective (1991).
Includes an annoucement for an International Emmy Award nomination for Maya Angelou in Performance on Thames Televsion (1987); and a script for McDonald's Corporation's African-American Heritage Series, in which Angelou narrated a segment on Langston Hughes, among others.
Includes flyer for Angelou's "Poetry, Protest, and Song", which was sponsored by the Chicago branch of the organziation.
Includes a PSA script for the National Council of Churches, among others.
Angelou planned to host a weekly show on this channel but it is unclear if her show ever aired.
Includes press material, scripts for possible segments, and correspondence.
This film focused on the question, "If you were to die tomorrow, what moment would you most remember and how did it change your life?". Angelou was one of the interviewees.
Includes an invitation to the film's premiere.
Series to be hosted by Angelou, but unclear if it ever aired.
Angelou was guest conductor on two separate occasions.
Includes performance programs.
Includes two copies of the program for the event, at which Angelou performed.
Seven-part international television series for which Angelou provided a "meditation".
One hour special hosted by Angelou and produced by WTVS Detroit in which she explores faith.
Benefit for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Does not appear that documentary was ever filmed.
Includes PSA narrations for the Salvation Army and Smithsonian Institution, among others.
Angelou starred in this production by GM Productions, which was directed by Defoy Glenn.
A television film starring Oprah Winfrey, in which Angelou acted in the role of Lelia Mae.
Tribute to Dorothy Height.
Includes event script.
Tribute video for Jim and Sarah Brady.
Includes a performance at the Wildwood Festival and a performance sponsored by the W. E. B. DuBois Foundation, among others.
Angelou began her collaboration with Hallmark in 1999; they developed a line of greeting cards and accessories, such as photo albums and picture frames. Angelou participated in the entire creative process, from writing the greeting card text to approving the final layout of the cards. She also was involved in a lawsuit with another company that wanted to collaborate on a line of cards; this company claimed that a letter served as a binding contract although no work was ever completed.
This subseries consists of correspondence with Hallmark; greeting card text drafts (handwritten, typed, and edited); publicity and printed matter, such as the announcement of the collaboration and advertisements for Angelou's line of cards and accessories; approval forms, templates, and mockups for cards and accessories; and legal documents related to Angelou's lawsuit.
Arranged into seven subgroups: (1) Correspondence; (2) Writing; (3) Publicity and printed matter; (4) Approval forms; (5) Templates; (6) Mockups; and (7) Legal. Arranged chronologically within each subgroup.
Includes Life Mosaic Celebration event guest book.
Includes a letter regarding the Washington D.C. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Groundbreaking Ceremony in which Angelou participated; it refers to a memento, most likely the shovel used during the event.
Includes a poem written in response to the terrorist attacks on the U.S. on September 11, 2001.
Bound book of sentiments written by Angelou for various cards.
Includes general marketing material for Hallmark, sample cards, color schemes, and a copy of Hallmark Magazine.
Presumably, Crayola and Hallmark were going to collaborate, possibly along with Angelou.
Includes press releases, news clippings, catalogs, and invitations.
Includes editorial and final approval forms from Hallmark's Licensing Design Studio for products, packaging, advertising, and merchandising.
Includes three-dimensional mockups of cards and accessories (including a photo album and frame in box 280); a presentation on boards (box 286); and signed mock-ups from 2001 (box 289).
Angelou filed a lawsuit against Butch Lewis and his production company, B. Lewis Productions, Inc. of New York, alleging that a 1994 letter exchanged between the two about a joint venture was not binding since no business was ever conducted. The judge found that the company did indeed suffer damages, but a specific amount or final settlement is not included in the files.
Includes legal documents (depositions, motions, etc.) related to Butch Lewis Productions vs. Maya Angelou and Hallmark.
This subseries is comprised of all the administrative material associated with Angelou's professional career. Throughout her career, she had various assistants; the first subgroup includes correspondence to and from these assistants on behalf of Angelou. Most of this correspondence is with Angelou's agents and publishers; organizations requesting permissions or appearances; travel agents; and service providers. Other files include templates for Angelou's curriculum vitae and signature; contact lists (including phone numbers and addresses); lists of flowers to be sent; cards from flowers received with notes for sending thank you letters; gift lists; and stationery. Additonally, Angelou's assistants were tasked with arranging and organizing various parties and celebrations, such as her annual Thanksgiving dinner. These files contain guest lists, travel and catering information, and invitations. Angelou's office coordinated all of her travel, and these files are included here. Finally, her office kept logs for her phone messages, faxes, and mail; these files, along with her various appointment books, are included here as well.
Arranged into various subgroups, then chronogically within each subgroup.
Includes correspondence with Angelou and on behalf of Angelou.
This subgroup contains invitations, guest lists, and travel information for various parties and events hosted by Angelou, for such occasions as Thanksgiving, birthdays, and July 4. Although these events were often of a personal nature, they are included here because Angelou's assistants usually organized them.
Includes form letters regarding requests for critiques, publication quotes, and permissions.
Includes invoices, statements, and contracts for phone services, car rentals, and airlines, among others.
Most of the appointment books are monogrammed with Angelou's initials, MA; however, there are a few with different initials, presumably those of her assistants.
Only includes AMG's book.
Includes spiral notebooks with notes written mostly by Angelou's assistants, but some by Angelou as well.
Although Angelou spent most of her academic career at Wake Forest University as the Z. Smith Reynolds Professor of American Studies, she also served as Distinguished Visiting Professor of General Studies at California State University, Sacramento, during the fall semester of 1974; Radford University Distinguished Visiting Professor from 1989-1990; and Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Exeter in May 1991.
This subseries includes administrative material (grade submissions, book orders, etc.); teaching contracts; course material (reading assignments, quizzes, and tests); printed matter (event posters, college brochures, etc.); and faculty meeting minutes and memoranda. Additionally, there is correspondence in the files for California State University, Sacramento, and the University of Exeter, but the majority of the Wake Forest correspondence is located in the Correspondence: Professional subseries.
Includes printed matter.
Includes materials on the College Board of Visitors and the Women Studies' Committee.
Includes syllabi, exams, lecture notes, and class rosters.
Includes syllabus, class roster, and reading material.
Includes syllabus, class roster, and reading list.
Includes course description, reading list, and reading material.
Includes class rosters, reading lists, course descriptions, class performance programs, and reading material.
Includes correspondence, notes, and a syllabi for other courses taught by Angelou or to which she contributed.
Includes lecture notes, quizzes, and reading material on courses taught by others, including Dolly McPherson, Angelou's close friend and colleague; this material was most likely referenced by Angelou for her courses.
Includes exams and a syllabus.
Includes final exam only.
Includes handwritten lecture notes.
Includes lecture notes and reading material.
Includes theater programs for productions directed by Angelou; commencement programs for which Angelou delivered the address; and symposia and conference programs in which Angelou participated or delivered addresses.
Includes articles about Angelou and her work at the University in Wake Forest , the University's magazine; the Winston-Salem Journal ; and other local and national magazines and newspapers.
Includes magazine and newspaper articles, brochures, commencement programs, and other printed matter related to Wake Forest University in general.
Most likely, the subject files were used by Angelou as research for her writing and teaching; they were materials sent to her by friends, colleagues, and the various organizations with which she was involved; or they were areas of interest to Angelou (places to travel, for instance, or topics of personal interest, such as dance). This material mostly includes printed matter (newspaper and magazine articles; brochures; pamphlets; postcards; and publications) related to various topics of interest to Angelou and organized by Angelou and/or her assistants. There are some handwritten notes and a few pieces of correspondence as well. This section is divided into six subgroups: (1) Geographic locations; (2) Individuals; (3) Organizations; (4) Publications; (5) Schools; and (6) Topics. The subgroup organizations includes businesses, theater and dance groups, nonprofit organizations, governmental organizations, museums, and historic sites. Publications include journal issues and student publications, among others. The schools subgroup mostly consists of colleges and universities, but some elementary and high schools as well. Dates listed refer to the dates of publication or event.
Includes Bermuda, Chicago, and Cuba, among others.
Also includes a memo, prepared by Ghana, regarding Southern Rhodesia and submitted to the Security Council in 1963.
Includes Maine and Missouri, among others.
Includes a handwritten poem and song, translated from Norwegian, from 1983.
Includes articles on apartheid.
Includes Senegal and Scotland, among others.
Includes Washington, D.C. and the West Indies.
Many of the files include Sara Lee's "Frontrunner Award" nomination forms, for which Angelou wrote some of the winners' essays for the awards program. She might have also been a judge.
Includes a performance program signed by Anderson.
Includes Fiona Apple and Virginia Apgar, among others.
Includes press material and clippings on the HBO movie starring Lynn Whitfield as Baker.
Includes material related to various tributes to Baldwin.
Includes Cathleen Black and Elise Boulding, among others.
Includes ticket to a performance in East Elmhurst, NY, in 1985.
Includes Julius Chambers and Liz Claiborne, among others.
Includes an inscribed performance program.
Includes George Dawson and Joan Dunlop, among others.
Includes program for a birthday tribute to Ellington.
Includes Yla Eason, among others.
Includes inscribed award program.
Includes Suzanne Farrell and John Fobes, among others.
Includes Lou Glasse and Glenn Gould, among others.
Includes Michael Harper and Chester Himes, among others.
Includes Bobby Jones and Lois Mailou Jones, among others.
Material in box 345 includes memorials to King in LIFE Magazine and Ebony , April-May 1968.
Includes B. B. King and Kris Kristofferson, among others.
Includes Elma Lewis and Robert Loomis, among others.
Includes Miriam Makeba and Elijah Muhammad, among others.
Includes Gloria Naylor and Albert Nellum, among others.
Includes a signed exhibition catalogue.
Includes Raymond Patterson and Dottie Peoples, among others.
Includes Ann Richards and Lloyd Richards, among others.
Includes Beverly Sills, John Singleton, and Wole Soyinka, among others.
Includes inscribed conference program.
Includes Mel Tomlinson and Tommy Tune, among others.
Includes inscribed exhibition catalogue.
Includes Cecil Williams and Nancy Wilson, among others.
Includes American Museum of Natural History and the Arthur Ashe Foundation, among others.
Includes Book Aid International and Boys and Girls Clubs of America, among others.
Includes CARE and Committee of Concerned Blacks, among others.
Includes Daughters and Sons United and Directors Guild of America, among others.
Includes the Enterprise Foundation, among others.
Includes Families First and Fund for Southern Communities, among others.
Includes Golden Key Honor Society, among others.
Includes Harambee Centre, among others.
Includes Institute for Independent Education and Kaiser Permanente, among others.
Includes the Metropolitan Museum of Art and MusiCares, among others.
Includes National Visionary Leadership Project and New York City Mission Society, among others.
Includes the Omega Institute, among others.
Includes PACE Center for Girls, among others.
Includes Random House and Rhino Records.
Includes the Salvation Army and State of the World Forum, among others.
Includes the Teachers and Writers Collaborative, among others.
Includes Unity Temple on the Plaza, among others.
Includes Western States Black Research Center (WSBRC) and Winston-Salem Delta Fine Arts, among others.
Includes issues of Academe and American Legacy , among others.
Includes one on Richard A. Long's resources at Auburn Avenue Research Library.
Includes an issue of The Black Collegian , among others.
Includes publishers' catalogs, such as those of Continuum and Chronicle Books.
Includes a conference program for the 12th Annual Conference for Negro Women at Philander Smith College (1937) and Our Little Folks , a book for children from Colored Methodist Episcopal Church (1944).
Includes a copy of The Crusader from 1964, among others.
Includes two issues; the 1972 issue is a special issue on the black male.
Publication of the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans.
Includes issues of Friends Journal and Gay Community News , among others.
The 1966 issue features an article about the overthrow of Nkrumah in Ghana.
Includes Lafayette County Democrat and Lincoln Center Theater Review .
Includes issues of Negro History Bulletin and Oxford American , among others.
Includes an issue of Public Perspective , among others.
Includes an issue of Sojourners , among others.
Includes an issue of Teachers and Writers , among others.
Includes an issue of Women's Review , among others.
Includes Bennett College and Brown University, among others.
Includes Dartmouth College, among others.
Includes Evergreen State College, among others.
Includes brochure and catalog on the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Includes Hampton Institute (now University) and the Kokrobitey School in Ghana.
Includes Mills College, among others.
Includes the North Carolina Outward Bound School, among others.
Includes the Piney Woods Country Life School, among others.
Includes Surry Community College, among others.
Includes University of Exeter and University of Tokyo, among others.
Includes Washington University in St. Louis and Wheaton College.
Includes calendars, handbooks, and registers.
Includes a photocopy of Black Odyssey: The Case of the Slave Ship Amistad by Mary Cable (1971).
Includes a 1974 flyer from the Afro-American Theatre Laboratory, which performed some of Angelou's works; it is signed, most likely by one of the performers, Richard Ward.
Includes photocopies of articles about this topic, possibly reading material for a class.
Angelou's friend, Stan Meyer, sent her clippings on various topics.
Includes two clippings from Italian newspapers.
Includes a clipping about a performance of The Blacks in Germany.
Includes original clippings (magazine and newspaper) about I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings .
Box 355a contains photocopies of clippings from international news outlets.
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Article contents
Angelou, maya.
- Stefanie K. Dunning
- https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190201098.013.625
- Published online: 26 July 2017
Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1928 . Because her brother Bailey could not say her whole name as a child, Marguerite became Maya. Angelou's life is synonymous with her work; she has published a series of five autobiographies, her most famous being I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings ( 1970 ). In each of these five works, Angelou writes about particular and important parts of her life. Yet not only does each book elucidate periods in Angelou's own life, but these books also paint a picture of the time she is writing about within the black community. Angelou's work demonstrates that the personal is political and that the events that shape and inform an individual life are often related to large political movements and events that affect an entire community.
Long before the publication of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings , Maya Angelou had been a poet, a dancer, a singer, and an actor. After a party one evening where Angelou had regaled her guests with humorous stories of her childhood, she was approached by a publisher and asked to write an autobiography. At first Angelou refused, but she eventually accepted the offer and wrote her now-famous autobiographical account of her childhood. In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings , Angelou details her childhood, which she and her brother Bailey spent being shuttled from her paternal grandparents, her mother and her father.
In this her first work, Angelou's writing is resplendent and taut; it is perhaps Angelou's most lyrically successful autobiographical account. Angelou draws a quaint portrait of her life in Stamps, Arkansas, with her paternal grandmother and her partially disabled uncle. In Stamps, Maya and Bailey's lives are steady, healthy, and regulated by school, the commerce of her grandmother's thriving store, and their church schedule. In Stamps, young Maya is protected from the brutalities of her mother and father's worlds, which she would come to know too soon. After a few years in Stamps, their mother reclaims Maya and Bailey and they move to St. Louis to live with her. There, Maya is molested by one of her mother's boyfriends and suffers not only bodily trauma but also psychological trauma as she attempts to grapple with what has happened to her. This experience will make the young Maya feel “tainted” as she proceeds through the difficulties of adolescence. She is eventually returned to her grandmother, only to move once again in her life to California, where she lives with both her mother and her father alternately. Angelou's narrative ends when she becomes pregnant at sixteen and gives birth to a boy, whom she named Guy Johnson .
Angelou's first autobiography received rave reviews, but it has lately come under fire, along with a host of other books that have been considered American classics. Banned along with some works by Mark Twain in several states, among them Georgia and Texas, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was thought to be so sexually explicit that it was pornographic; some parents felt Angelou's descriptions of her sexual molestation were too graphic for children to read. Despite this controversy, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings remains one of the most widely read and best-selling autobiographical accounts in American literature.
Angelou's Life as Her Work
In 1971 , Angelou published a book of poetry, Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie . Like her autobiography, her poetry in this volume deals with the difficult themes of sexuality, race, and gender. Her poem The Mothering Blackness , in the section entitled “Where Love is a Scream of Anguish,” perfectly illustrates this conjunction of issues in Angelou's poetry. “She came home running / back to the mothering blackness / deep in the smothering blackness / white tears icicle gold plains of her face / she came home running.” This poem also reminds us of Angelou's own homeward journey from St. Louis after her horrific sexual abuse at the hands of her mother's boyfriend. Angelou's poetry has yet to receive the critical praise some of her autobiographical work has garnered. Despite the lack of critical acclaim or interest in Angelou's poetry, her volumes continue to sell well with popular readers.
Angelou followed this volume of poetry with another autobiographical work, Gather Together in My Name ( 1974 ). In this book, Angelou writes about her and her brother's relationship with their grandmother and the widening rift between them. She also chronicles her experience in a variety of professions—most notable is her work as a prostitute and madam. At the end of Gather Together in My Name , Angelou realizes she was “tricked” into prostituting herself by a lover. The novel ends as a repentant Angelou beseeches her readers to forgive her for the insights, some of which are tawdry, she reveals in this book. Yet Angelou's colorful past exposes far more than simply the salacious nature of some of her jobs; her frank portrayal of her life demonstrates her showmanship, highlighting that Angelou is a consummate performer and she brings to her work the kind of difficult honesty that makes art meaningful, worthwhile, and beautiful.
The forthright nature of Angelou's work and art has meant that she was never without work; during the period between the publication of her autobiographies, Angelou toured with the State Department's production of Porgy and Bess on a twenty-two-nation tour, wrote songs for Hollywood movies, and perhaps most notably, wrote the script for the film Georgia, Georgia and became the first black woman to write a Hollywood film.
Between the publication of her second and third book of autobiography, Angelou published a book of poetry titled Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well ( 1975 ). In Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well , Angelou continues to confront issues of race and racism. This volume, however, reflects her experiences abroad and in Africa, as the poem simply titled Africa demonstrates. Of Africa, she notes, “Now she is rising / remember her pain / remember the losses / her screams loud and in vain / remember her riches / her history slain / now she is striding / although she had lain.” This volume of poetry reflects a more mature Angelou, who is contemplating aging as well as celebrating those who have died, as evidenced in titles from the volume such as Turning Forty and Elegy .
Angelou's next autobiographical publication is the enigmatic Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas ( 1976 ). In this work, Angelou chronicles her failed marriage to a Greek sailor, Tosh Angelos . The two were married for five years but eventually separated; Angelou devotes the second half of the book to describing her experiences as a dancer in the State Department's world tour of Porgy and Bess . While touring with Porgy and Bess , Angelou had to leave her son, Guy Johnson, behind, and this guilt at not being with her son was almost more than she could bear. Battling severe depression and at times considering suicide, Angelou spent a year bouncing between astounding emotional highs and lows. After one year the tour ended, and she moved to a houseboat in Sausalito and lived in a commune with her son.
The Impact of Maya Angelou's Work
Angelou then published the book of poetry And Still I Rise ( 1978 ). This volume of poetry produced Angelou's best-known poem among African-American women, Phenomenal Woman . Reproduced on T-shirts, posters, and greeting cards, Angelou's poem celebrated African-American beauty, and though published in 1978 , fifteen years later a new generation of racially conscious readers would rediscover this poem as an enduring ode to the beauty and strength of African-American women. Her mainstream popularity among a younger generation of African Americans undoubtedly is linked in part to the success of her poem On the Pulse of Morning , which she delivered at the inauguration of President William Jefferson Clinton in 1992 . Her poem, which rhymes and seems to move with a beat akin to rap music, begins “Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. / I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size.” Angelou goes on to write, “It's in the reach of my arms, / The span of my hips, / The stride in my step, / The curl of my lips. / I'm a woman / Phenomenally. / Phenomenal woman, / That's me.” Though Angelou never explicitly posits two economies of racial beauty (white versus black) in this poem, it has been interpreted and claimed as a validation of the physical features of black women that have long been labeled as unacceptable by mainstream American society. This poem represented a rallying cry for African-American women everywhere to embrace themselves as they were, rather than subscribe to white standards of beauty.
Angelou's fourth and fifth autobiographies, The Heart of a Woman ( 1981 ) and All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes ( 1986 ), continued to explore the themes of race and racism in her work as well as questions of gender and sexuality. In The Heart of A Woman , Angelou recaptures some of her former linguistic acuity as she finds herself committed to the cause of civil rights. Quite notably, Angelou served as the Northern Coordinator of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The book has been hailed as an important contribution to African-American history, as it covers the pivotal civil rights moment. Her fifth autobiography, All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes , explores the four years Angelou spent in Africa and the devastating car accident that endangered the life of her son. In Africa, Angelou becomes deeply depressed as she waits for Guy to recover from a broken neck; yet she also finds herself in Africa and reconnects her African-American self to the home of her ancestors. Angelou falls in love with Kwame Nkrumah's Ghana and portrays an extremely important moment in African history—the opening years of Africa's first postcolonial republic.
Though all of Angelou's work (as well as her many professions, which include teaching, journalism and performing) is too numerous to name here, it is worth noting that she also published a volume of poetry in 1983 titled Shaker, Why Don't You Sing! Another autobiographical novel, A Song Flung Up to Heaven ( 2002 ), deviates from her previous autobiographies in that she takes a longer look over her entire life rather than focusing on one specific period. Angelou recounts her return from Africa, her depression over the deaths of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X , and her growing disappointment with the emotional distance growing between her and her son, Guy. She also provides vivid accounts of her friendship with James Baldwin .
Despite Angelou's previous success, African-American poet Wanda Coleman reviewed A Song Flung Up to Heaven negatively. Of Angelou's latest work, she wrote in the 14 April 2002 issue of the Los Angeles Times that the book was full of “empty phrases and sweeping generalities…dead metaphors (‘sobbing embrace,’ ‘my heart fell in my chest’) and clumsy similes (‘like the sound of buffaloes running into each other at rutting times’).” Coleman's criticism of Angelou sparked an enormous controversy in the African-American literary community; Coleman was subsequently uninvited by Eso Won Books, the premiere African-American bookstore in southern California, to a book signing. Coleman, however, was not alone in her criticism of the book; the reviews for the book were generally mixed, with quite a few strongly negative reviews of it.
Though Coleman's negative review of Angelou's latest autobiography generated a great deal of press (Coleman was even featured in the Village Voice after the fallout from her review), Angelou's work has often received mixed reviews. Critics have long discounted her poetry as simplistic. It is, perhaps, for this reason that her poetry is less known than her other works. And of all her works, Angelou is still most critically lauded for her autobiographical novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings . Despite some critical disapproval, Angelou's work continues to inspire and sustain readers all over the world. Maya Angelou is currently serving as Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Selected Works
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1970)
- Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie: The Poetry of Maya Angelou (1971)
- Gather Together in My Name (1974)
- Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well (1975)
- Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas (1976)
- And Still I Rise (1978)
- The Heart of a Woman (1981)
- Shaker, Why Don't You Sing! (1983)
- All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes (1986)
- I Shall Not Be Moved (1990)
- Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now (1993)
- Phenomenal Woman: Four Poems Celebrating Women (1994)
- Even the Stars Look Lonesome (1997)
- A Song Flung Up to Heaven (2002)
Further Reading
- Bloom , Harold , ed. Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings . Philadelphia, Pa., 1998. A thorough and authoritative collection of important essays about Angelou by leading literary critics.
- Courtney-clarke, Margaret . Maya Angelou: The Poetry of Living . New York, 1999. An interesting book of photographs and quotations about Angelou.
- Elliot, Jeffrey M. , ed. Conversations with Maya Angelou . Jackson, Miss., 1989. A great set of interviews with Angelou from the 1970s and 1980s.
- Lupton, Mary . Singing the Black Mother: Maya Angelou and Autobiographical Continuity. Black American Literature Forum 24, no. 2 (Summer 1990): 257–275. An interesting discussion of Angelou and the tradition of autobiography.
- McPherson, Dolly . Order out of Chaos: The Autobiographical Works of Maya Angelou . New York, 1990. A critical review of Angelou's autobiographies through 1986.
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date: 28 March 2024
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Maya Angelou Essay Example
- November 28, 2022
Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou Essay: Introduction
Maya Angelou was an artist who had started her career at a very young age. She faced many difficulties in the early years of her life because she was a victim of rape. However, she was a talented black woman who had a unique point of view about herself and others that affected her art and life. She is a Professor, an Afro-American writer who fought against injustice and other ills of the society while she maintained a constant hope and optimism. She helped society by writing her poems although she suffered from rape, discrimination, and unfair civil-rights.
Body Paragraphs
One of her most famous poems was written for President Bill Clinton's inauguration. This poem is called “On the Pulse of Morning”, and a poet had not been read at a presidential inauguration since 1961 when Robert Frost read "The Gift Outright" for President John F. Kennedy’s presidential inauguration (Fuller 7). As an intellectual, she fought for her ideas and published many poems and books. Maya Angelou died in 2014, and she left a wealth of artworks and perspectives behind. She lived a fulfilled life with love, joy, and happiness. Maya Angelou witnessed many social and political changes that affected her art and beliefs.
Maya Angelou was born in 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, where she was raised by her grandmother. She continued in the same line of Martin Luther’s legacy even after he died. She spoke the truth that she believed was right. She inspired so many young artists, shared her ideas, and suggestions with them (“At 80 Maya,” n.p.). This source help readers understand her personality and her career as a black artist. Until the last day of her life, she remained an active civil-activist who never lost touch with society.
Maya Angelou lived as a well-respected artist who was nominated for so many literary awards and honorary titles. Also, she has more than 50 honorary degrees. In other words, Maya Angelou experienced her life as a valuable artist. Maya Angelou is the first black woman artist who has won the most valuable awards. In this direction, her most important awards include the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
More specifically, the award was given to Maya Angelou by Barack Obama in 2010, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom award is distinguished as the highest civilian honour in the United States (“Editors,” para. 2). In this sense, one can readily infer that her ideas and artworks deserve the highest awards. Early writings of Angelou include her experiences, perspectives, ideas, social, and political thoughts. Her political views are valued by society because of her artworks, and her ideas combine her style of writing poems. More specifically, Maya Angelou has a unique writing style and uses rhythms in her poems. Maya Angelou is one of the pioneer writers who used rhythm in her poems because of her combined-short poems with rhythm.
Also, her poems include the significance of social and political topics. More specifically, her poetry includes short length poems because her thought of a poem is that they should be short in formation. In other words, her poem’s length is between 12-50 verses. Her way of writing poems reflects her point of view about art and civil-rights because she writes poems according to her own rules and style.
During her career, her poems have been considered as influential and social because it combines different art sources together that writes about social and political topics. The majority of her poems are getting nominated for the most valuable awards and honorary titles. Her most famous works include her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Mathis 2). In other words, her autobiography tells her journey as an artist from the beginning of her career.
Mayo Angelou has six published poetry books that reflect her life, ideas, perspective, and her soul. She creates her artworks with working different specialists that include dancers, writers, and producers. She puts so many variables together, and her efforts make her poetry unique as well as valuable. She is the first civil-rights activist. Therefore, her poems and books discuss social and political issues because she aims to create awareness of these problems. Maya Angelou wants to present solutions for these problems. Her deep analytical thinking ability creates a mirror that reflects society. One can infer that Maya Angelou's ability to create poems is highly affected by social and political changes. She supports civil-rights because she observes the inequalities in society. Also, her first book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings reflects her point of view about civil- rights.
According to the secondary resources, her poems are going from the excitement of love to outrage over racial injustice, from the pride of blackness and African heritage to suffered slurs (Hagen 1). This source examines her art style and her poetry’s qualification. It helps readers to understand her poems’ criticism. She suffers from social injustice more than white artists. Maya Angelou not only wrote poems and book, and but she also collaborated with many artists who were working in different fields. She worked with a movie producer, and they created a movie together. In this sense, she created a series of poems that are songs. She turned her poems into songs and published them. She had many other collaborations with artists, and they created artworks together.
Maya Angelou Essay: Conclusion
In conclusion, Maya Angelou was a well- respected artist who won many important awards and honorary titles. She is one of the most valuable artists both in the 20th century and the 21st century. She has inspired so many young artists. She fought for her ideas, and personal believes that was right to her and the society because there were injustice and inequality. Specifically, during the 20th century, racism was a major problem in society because white individuals are considered as superiors to black individuals. Therefore, Maya Angelou's writing career includes these social and political problems. Maya Angelou's poems have another significance than its topics. In this sense, she wrote short length poems between 12-50. Her short poems included rhythm element. Maya Angelou died in 2014, and she had witnessed so many social and political differences. Moreover, her poems reflected the society and its major problems in which she tried to find solutions to these problems.
"At 80, Maya Angelou Reflects on a Glorious' Life." Weekend Edition Sunday, 6 Apr. 2008. Gale Literature Resource Center.
Editors, Biography.com. "5 Crowning Achievements of Maya Angelou." Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 23 June 2020. Web. 04 Nov. 2020.
Fuller, Jaime. "What Maya Angelou Wrote and Said about Race and Politics." The Washington Post. WP Company, 26 Apr. 2019. Web. 04 Nov. 2020.
Mathis, Andrew E. “Angelou, Maya.” Encyclopedia of American Poetry, 2-Volume Set, Second Edition, Facts On File, 2013. Bloom's Literature.
Hagen, Lyman B. "Poetry: Something About Everything." Poetry Criticism, edited by Ellen McGeagh, vol. 32, Gale, 2001. Gale Literature Resource Center.
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Maya Angelou
Poet, dancer, singer, activist, and scholar Maya Angelou was a world-famous author. She was best known for her unique and pioneering autobiographical writing style.
On April 4, 1928, Marguerite Ann Johnson, known to the world as Maya Angelou, was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Due to her parents’ tumultuous marriage and subsequent divorce, Angelou went to live with her paternal grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas at an early age. Her older brother, Bailey, gave Angelou her nickname “Maya.”
Returning to her mother’s care briefly at the age of seven, Angelou was raped by her mother’s boyfriend. He was later jailed and then killed when released from jail. Believing that her confession of the trauma had a hand in the man’s death, Angelou became mute for six years. During her mutism and into her teens, she again lived with her grandmother in Arkansas.
Angelou’s interest in the written word and the English language was evident from an early age. Throughout her childhood, she wrote essays, poetry, and kept a journal. When she returned to Arkansas, she took an interest in poetry and memorized works by Shakespeare and Poe.
Prior to the start of World War II, Angelou moved back in with her mother, who at this time was living in Oakland, California. She attended George Washington High School and took dance and drama courses at the California Labor School.
When war broke out, Angelou applied to join the Women’s Army Corps. However, her application was rejected because of her involvement in the California Labor School, which was said to have Communist ties. Determined to gain employment, despite being only 15 years old, she decided to apply for the position of a streetcar conductor. Many men had left their jobs to join the services, enabling women to fill them. However, Angelou was barred from applying at first because of her race. But she was undeterred. Every day for three weeks, she requested a job application, but was denied. Finally, the company relented and handed her an application. Because she was under the legal working age, she wrote that she was 19. She was accepted for the position and became the first African American woman to work as a streetcar conductor in San Francisco. Angelou was employed for a semester but then decided to return to school. She graduated from Mission High School in the summer of 1944 and soon after gave birth to her only child, Clyde Bailey (Guy) Johnson.
After graduation, Angelou undertook a series of odd jobs to support herself and her son. In 1949, she married Tosh Angelos, an electrician in the US Navy. She adopted a form of his surname and kept it throughout her life, though the marriage ended in divorce in 1952.
Angelou was also noted for her talents as a singer and dancer, particularly in the calypso and cabaret styles. In the 1950s, she performed professionally in the US, Europe, and northern Africa, and sold albums of her recordings.
In 1950, African American writers in New York City formed the Harlem Writers Guild to nurture and support the publication of Black authors. Angelou joined the Guild in 1959. She also became active in the Civil Rights Movement and served as the northern coordinator of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a prominent African American advocacy organization
In 1969, Angelou published I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings , an autobiography of her early life. Her tale of personal strength amid childhood trauma and racism resonated with readers and was nominated for the National Book Award. Many schools sought to ban the book for its frank depiction of sexual abuse, but it is credited with helping other abuse survivors tell their stories. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings has been translated into numerous languages and has sold over a million copies worldwide. Angelou eventually published six more autobiographies, culminating in 2013’s Mom & Me & Mom.
She wrote numerous poetry volumes, such as the Pulitzer Prize-nominated Just Give me a Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie (1971), as well as several essay collections. She also recorded spoken albums of her poetry, including “On the Pulse of the Morning,” for which she won a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album. The poem was originally written for and delivered at President Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1993. She also won a Grammy in 1995, and again in 2002, for her spoken albums of poetry.
Angelou carried out a wide variety of activities on stage and screen as a writer, actor, director, and producer. In 1972, she became the first African American woman to have her screen play turned into a film with the production of Georgia, Georgia . Angelou earned a Tony nomination in 1973 for her supporting role in Jerome Kitty’s play Look Away , and portrayed Kunta Kinte’s grandmother in the television miniseries Roots in 1977.
She was recognized by many organizations both nationally and internationally for her contributions to literature. In 1981, Wake Forest University offered Angelou the Reynolds Professorship of American Studies. President Clinton awarded Angelou the National Medal of Arts in 2000. In 2012, she was a member of the inaugural class inducted into the Wake Forest University Writers Hall of Fame. The following year, she received the National Book Foundation’s Literarian Award for outstanding service to the American literary community. Angelou also gave many commencement speeches and was awarded more than 30 honorary degrees in her lifetime.
Angelou died on May 28, 2014. Several memorials were held in her honor, including ones at Wake Forest University and Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco. To honor her legacy, the US Postal Service issued a stamp with her likeness on it in 2015. (The US Postal Service mistakenly included a quote on the stamp that has long been associated with Angelou but was actually first written by Joan Walsh Anglund .)
In 2010, President Barack Obama awarded Angelou the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor. It was a fitting recognition for Angelou’s remarkable and inspiring career in the arts.
Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. (New York: Random House, 1969). Angelou, Maya. Maya Angelou: A Glorious Celebration. (New York: Doubleday, 2008).
“Poet – Maya Angelou.” Academy of American Poets. Accessed August 8, 2017. https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/maya-angelou
Brown, Emma. “Maya Angelou, Writer and Poet, dies at age 86.” The Washington Post, May 28, 2014. Accessed August 8, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/maya-angelou-writer-and-poet-dies-at-age-86/2014/05/28/2948ef5e-c5da-11df-94e1-c5afa35a9e59_story.html?utm_term=.408fffb9a82c
Brown , DeNeen L. “Maya Angelou honored for her first job as a street car conductor in San Francisco.” The Washington Post, March 12, 2014. Accessed August 8, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/local/wp/2014/03/12/maya-angelou-honored-for-her-first-job-as-a-street-car-conductor-in-san-francisco/?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.92c836957f2f
“About Harlem Writers Guild.” Harlem Writers Guild. Accessed August 10, 2017. http://theharlemwritersguild.org/about.html
Moore, Lucinda. “Growing Up Maya Angelou.” Smithsonian.com, April 2013. Accessed August 8, 2017. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/growing-up-maya-angelou-79582387/
Nixon, Ron. “Postal Service Won’t Reissue Maya Angelou Stamp.” The New York Times, April 8, 2017. Accessed August 8, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/09/us/postal-service-wont-reissue-maya-angelou-stamp.html
“History.” Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Accessed August 10, 2017. http://nationalsclc.org/about-us/history/
Thursby, Jacqueline S. "Angelou, Maya (4 Apr. 1928–28 May 2014), writer, performer, and activist." American National Biography. 29 Nov. 2018; Accessed 7 Dec. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.013.00700
“Dr. Maya Angelou.” National Book Foundation. Accessed December 7, 2021. https://www.nationalbook.org/people/dr-maya-angelou/#fullBio
MLA - Spring, Kelly. “Maya Angelou." National Women's History Museum. National Women's History Museum, 2017. Date accessed.
Chicago - Spring, Kelly. "Maya Angelou." National Women's History Museum. 2017. www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/maya-angelou.
Photo Credit: MAYA ANGELOU, circa 1976. Courtesy: CSU Archives / Everett Collection.
Angelou, Maya. Just Give me a Drink of Water ‘fore I Diiie . (New York: Bantam, 1976).
Angelou, Maya. Mom & Me & Mom . (London: Virago, 2013).
“THE INAUGURATION; Maya Angelou: 'On the Pulse of Morning’.” The New York Times, January 21 1993. http://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/21/us/the-inauguration-maya-angelou-on-the-pulse-of-morning.html Classroom Posters:
- Maya Angelou Classroom Poster (11x17 in) | Maya Angelou Classroom Poster (24x36 in)
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Maya Angelou Research Papers
Are you looking Maya Angelou Research Papers thesis statement samples? Yes you are at right place. Three Sample Thesis Statements for Maya Angelou Research Papers Thesis statement writing needs a theme and a viewpoint which is then claimed true with the help of sturdy evidences and concrete research work. There is no magic involved in […]
Are you looking Maya Angelou Research Papers thesis statement samples? Yes you are at right place.
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Three Sample Thesis Statements for Maya Angelou Research Papers
Thesis statement writing needs a theme and a viewpoint which is then claimed true with the help of sturdy evidences and concrete research work. There is no magic involved in writing a thesis statement, all you have to do is dig down deep the subject of your paper. Same goes with Maya Angelou research papers writing. Because thesis statement based on research and thorough knowledge about it if you are able to explore new ideas, thoughts, and want to provide innovative knowledge then you will surely score good marks.
You can write a perfect thesis statement only if you know the tactics involved. You must study different types and ways of writing a thesis statement and then study the life of Maya Angelou to develop great ideas while we can also help you develop this research papers thesis statement by giving away three different ideas dealing with different facets of Maya’s life.
Thesis statement idea # 1:
“Regardless of the fact that Maya Angelou was subjected to racial discrimination throughout her life, she struggled to become one of the finest writers of her time and an American African activist”
Here, you will be shedding lights on different facets of her life along with the circumstances she been throughout her life. She was a black African American who was subjected to racialism but still she managed to become what she is today. Provide her various achievements both as a writer and as an activist.
Thesis statement idea # 2:
“Maya Angelou, the great writer and activist was heavily inspired by St. Loius which is exhibited in her work as well at various instances”
Not everyone can deal with this kind of thesis statement. Here, you will have to highlight a direct inspiration of Maya for St. Louis. Have a read of her books and St. Loius life otherwise you won’t be able to find out at what point both meets.
Thesis statement idea # 3:
“Although, Maya Angelou’s life was full of miseries and unhappiness but she still managed to rise above the norms of the society to leave unprecedented example behind her”
The preceding thesis statement is in a generalized form; therefore, you have an enough room to play with it in the this research paperwriting. It is prudent that you go for an inspirational tone for writing the paper. If we are talking about the miseries and mishaps she been through her life then you can lucubrate these two words in your assignment. Like, why did her life was miserable and unhappy? What were the mishaps of her life? How did she fight with those tragedies?
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This research aims to highlight the unique existence of black women as they go on their daily lives in a land in which tyranny over women is still evident. Maya Angelou is a poet who presents the ...
Abstract. This psychobiography focuses on meaning making in the early life and young adulthood of acclaimed African American author Maya Angelou (1928-2014) through the lens of Frankl's existential psychology with a specific focus on the tri-dimensional nature of human beings and the fundamental triad. The primary data source was Angelou's ...
Therefore, even though this paper is going to be very much encompassing in the course of this study, its object of attention is to pragmatically study just a fraction of Maya Angelou's works ...
The Women University Multan. This paper is a comparative study between two selected poems by Maya Angelou, and aims to explore the female oppression as portrayed in her those selected poems. The ...
4.1 Gender Discrimination in the Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou Maya Angelou is one of the greatest poets who become an omnipotent literature's figure. She has written a lot of literary works about women and society since teenager. She is not only absorbed by gender discrimination but also racism which spreads in America.
OF MAYA ANGELOU Committee Chair: Timothy Askew, Ph.D. Thesis dated August 2019 This study examines Maya Angelou as a powerful African-American woman in the twentieth century who impacted generations of African Americans. Her biographies and selected poetry speak strongly and wisely about gender and racial empowerment.
Maya Angelou (1928-2014) was one of the most renowned and celebrated voices in American literature. The Maya Angelou papers consist of original manuscripts, computer generated typescripts, galleys, and proofs of published work as well as manuscripts for unpublished work and dozens of poems. Additionally, there is personal and professional ...
The Impact of Maya Angelou's Work. Angelou then published the book of poetry And Still I Rise (1978).This volume of poetry produced Angelou's best-known poem among African-American women, Phenomenal Woman.Reproduced on T-shirts, posters, and greeting cards, Angelou's poem celebrated African-American beauty, and though published in 1978, fifteen years later a new generation of racially ...
Abstract This paper focuses on the topics of racism and fight against racist oppression, as well as rape and the trauma caused by sexual violation at a young age, in Maya Angelou's autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969).It shows the development of the main character through the hardships of
Maya Angelou Thesis. 1854 Words8 Pages. Poetry is quite a force to be reckoned with. It makes people contemplate all sorts of things - love and loss, life and death. It is something that affects and connects and brings people across the world together, and the poetry of Maya Angelou is especially successful in doing exactly this.
Maya Angelou Essay: Introduction. Maya Angelou was an artist who had started her career at a very young age. She faced many difficulties in the early years of her life because she was a victim of rape. However, she was a talented black woman who had a unique point of view about herself and others that affected her art and life.
In this research paper, the researcher has tried to find out the image of black female depicted in Maya Angelou's poems. This research has been conducted by qualitative and analytical method ...
Poet, dancer, singer, activist, and scholar Maya Angelou was a world-famous author. She was best known for her unique and pioneering autobiographical writing style. On April 4, 1928, Marguerite Ann Johnson, known to the world as Maya Angelou, was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Due to her parents' tumultuous marriage and subsequent divorce ...
Thesis Statement Maya Angelou Research Paper - Free download as PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read online for free. thesis statement maya angelou research paper
Thesis Statement for Research Paper on Maya Angelou - Free download as PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read online for free. Scribd is the world's largest social reading and publishing site.
Scan to come up with good Maya Angelou research papers on time with a winning grade. [email protected]. 44-207-097-1871; Toggle navigation. ... Three Sample Thesis Statements for Maya Angelou Research Papers. Thesis statement writing needs a theme and a viewpoint which is then claimed true with the help of sturdy evidences and ...
Maya Angelou and Racism. PAGES 7 WORDS 2149. Maya Angelou is one of the most renowned and influential voices in the recent time. She is a celebrated poet, novelist, actor and filmmaker. In her early life, she experienced the brutality of racial discrimination based on the situation at the time (Goodman 21).
Maya Angelou, named at birth, Marguerite Johnson was on April 4th, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. Her and her family moved from St. Louis to Stamps, Arkansas, where she was raised growing up. Maya Angelou was an American author, dancer, screenwriter, actress, poet and civil rights activist. Angelou gained a majority of her fame with the memoir ...
The paper offers an analysis of Maya Angelou's autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, published in 1969 as an expression of some of the major ideas of the black feminist movement and a ...
Maya Angelou (born April 4, 1928, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.—died May 28, 2014, Winston-Salem, North Carolina) was an American poet, memoirist, and actress whose several volumes of autobiography explore the themes of economic, racial, and sexual oppression.. Although born in St. Louis, Angelou spent much of her childhood in the care of her paternal grandmother in rural Stamps, Arkansas.
Maya Angelou Research Paper American poet, storyteller, activist, and autobiographer, Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri. Angelou has had a broad career as a singer, dancer, actress, composer, and first female black director, but is most famous as a writer, editor, essayist, playwright, and poet.
Abstract. This study analyzes discrimination toward black woman which appears in Maya Angelou's poems. In this case, the researcher chose three poems of Maya Angelou. Those are "Still I Rise ...
Research Paper i Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Free download as PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read online for free. research paper i know why the caged bird sings