MAYA ANGELOU FAQ
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Maya Angelou, born April 4, 1928 as Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, was raised in segregated rural Arkansas. She is a poet, historian, author, actress, playwright, civil-rights activist, producer and director. She lectures throughout the US and abroad and is Reynolds professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in North Carolina since 1981. She has published ten best selling books and numerous magazine articles earning her Pulizer Prize and National Book Award nominations. At the request of President Clinton, she wrote and delivered a poem at his 1993 presidential inauguration.
Dr. Angelou, who speaks French, Spanish, Italian and West African Fanti, began her career in drama and dance. She married a South African freedom fighter and lived in Cairo where she was editor of The Arab Observer, the only English-language news weekly in the Middle East. In Ghana, she was feature editor of The African Review and taught at the University of Ghana. In the 1960's, at the request of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ms. Angelou became the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. She was appointed by President Gerald Ford to the Bicentennial Commission and by President Jimmy Carter to the National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year.
In the film industry, through her work in script writing and directing, Maya Angelou has been a groundbreaker for black women. In television, she has made hundreds of appearances. Her best-selling autobiographical account of her youth, "I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings," won critical acclaim in 1970 and was a two hour TV special on CBS. She has written and produced several prize winning documentaries, including "Afro-Americans in the Arts," a PBS special for which she received the Golden Eagle Award. She was also nominated for an Emmy Award for her acting in Roots, and her screenplay Georgia, Georgia was the first by a black woman to be filmed.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. New York: Random House, 1969. Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie; the Poetry of Maya Angelou. New York: Random House, 1971. Gather Together in My Name. New York: Random House, 1974. Oh Pray My Wings are Gonna Fit Me Well. New York: Random House, 1975. Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas. New York: Random House, 1976. And Still I Rise New York. New York: Random House, 1978. The Heart of a Woman. New York: Random House, 1981. Shaker, Why Don't You Sing? New York: Random House, 1983. All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes. New York: Random House, 1986. Now Sheba Sings the Song. New York: Dutton/Dial, 1987. I Shall Not Be Moved. New York: Random House, 1990. Wouldn't Take Nothing for my Journey Now. New York: Random House, 1993.
A first rate Maya Angelou Page
Hear Maya Angelou Speaks on Signifying
See and hear Maya Angelou speak at the Million Man March
My Favorite Maya Angelou Pages
Critiques and Reviews of Maya, here and here.
A Teacher's Resource to Maya Anglou
Maya Angelou and Asford and Simpson
We have no connection with, nor do we know how to contact, Ms. Angelou.
This page was written and maintained for The Circle Association. To contact us go to contact. Please mention the name of this page in your notes, but do not request analysis of poetry.
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