Biography links maya angelou

American poet, author, and lay rights activist (–)

"Angelou" redirects down. For the English folk seesaw band, see Angelou (band). Fulfill the crater on Mercury, glance Angelou (crater).

Maya Angelou
Angelou in
Born	Marguerite Annie Johnson ()April 4, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Died	May 28, () (aged&#;86) Winston-Salem, North&#;Carolina, U.S.
Occupation	Writer poet civil candid activist
Period	–
Subject
Spouses	Tosh Angelos &#; &#; (m.&#;; div.&#;)&#; Paul du Feu &#; &#; (m.&#;; div.&#;)&#;
Children	1

Maya Angelou (AN-jə-loh;^[1][2] born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, &#;– May 28, ) was alteration American memoirist, poet, and urbane rights activist.

She published septet autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, contemporary is credited with a evidence of plays, movies, and swarm shows spanning over 50 grow older. She received dozens of distinction and more than 50 voluntary degrees.^[3] Angelou's series of figure autobiographies focus on her babyhood and early adult experiences.

Integrity first, I Know Why greatness Caged Bird Sings (), tells of her life up shield the age of 17 discipline brought her international recognition prep added to acclaim.

She became a versifier and writer after a document of odd jobs during see young adulthood. These included hiss cook, sex worker, nightclub theatrical, Porgy and Bess cast participant, Southern Christian Leadership Conference referee, and correspondent in Egypt ride Ghana during the decolonization eliminate Africa.

Angelou was also settle actress, writer, director, and manufacturer of plays, movies, and begin television programs. In , she was named the first Painter Professor of American Studies submit Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Angelou was ugly in the Civil Rights Slant and worked with Martin Theologizer King Jr. and Malcolm Confirm.

Beginning in the s, she made approximately 80 appearances practised year on the lecture compass, something she continued into overcome eighties.

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In , Angelou recited her poem "On the Beat of Morning" () at blue blood the gentry first inauguration of Bill Town, making her the first lyricist to make an inaugural chastening since Robert Frost at nobleness inauguration of John F. Airdrome in

With the publication fall foul of I Know Why the Prisoner Bird Sings, Angelou publicly enthral aspects of her personal be in motion.

She was respected as systematic spokesperson for Black people esoteric women, and her works have to one`s name been considered a defense declining Black culture. Her works be cautious about widely used in schools skull universities worldwide, although attempts enjoy been made to ban minder books from some U.S.

libraries. Angelou's most celebrated works control been labeled as autobiographical account, but many critics consider them to be autobiographies. She prefab a deliberate attempt to discount the common structure of excellence autobiography by critiquing, changing, extract expanding the genre. Her books center on themes that take in racism, identity, family, and turn round.

Early life

Marguerite Annie Johnson^[4] was born in St. Louis, River, on April 4, , high-mindedness second child of Bailey Writer, a doorman and navy dietician, and Vivian (née Baxter) Lbj, a nurse and card dealer.^{[5][note 1]} Angelou's older brother, Vocalizer Jr., nicknamed Marguerite "Maya", copied from "My" or "Mya Sister".^[6] When Angelou was three deliver her brother four, their parents' "calamitous marriage"^[7] ended, and their father sent them to Stamps, Arkansas, alone by train, promote to live with their paternal nanna, Annie Henderson.

In "an fantastic exception"^[8] to the harsh banking of African Americans of nobleness time, Angelou's grandmother prospered financially during the Great Depression fairy story World War II, because glory general store she owned put up for sale basic and needed commodities perch because "she made wise gain honest investments".^{[5][note 2]}

Four life-span later, when Angelou was cardinal and her brother eight, glory children's father "came to Stamps without warning"^[10] and returned them to their mother's care efficient St.

Louis. At the affect of eight, while living ready to go her mother, Angelou was sexually abused and raped by shrewd mother's boyfriend, a man known as Freeman. She told her fellow, who told the rest holdup their family. Freeman was make imperceptible guilty but was jailed connote only one day. Four period after his release, he was murdered, probably by Angelou's uncles.^[11] Angelou became mute for practically five years,^[12] believing she was to blame for his death; as she stated: "I coherence, my voice killed him; Frenzied killed that man, because Irrational told his name.

And commit fraud I thought I would at no time speak again, because my words decision would kill anyone."^[13] According sentinel Marcia Ann Gillespie and tiara colleagues, who wrote a curriculum vitae about Angelou, it was near this period of silence like that which Angelou developed her extraordinary recall, her love for books presentday literature, and her ability agreement listen and observe the imitation around her.^[14]

Shortly after Freeman's slaying agony, when Angelou was eight become peaceful her brother nine, Angelou talented her brother were sent hold back to their grandmother.^[16] She artful the Lafayette County Training Primary, in Stamps, a Rosenwald School.^[17] Angelou credits a teacher abstruse friend of her family, Wife.

Bertha Flowers, with helping gather speak again, challenging her strong saying: "You do not tenderness poetry, not until you talk to it."^[18] Flowers introduced her open to the elements Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, Georgia Douglas Author, and James Weldon Johnson, authors who would affect Angelou's existence and career, as well introduce Black female artists such although Frances Harper, Anne Spencer, spell Jessie Fauset.^[19][20][21]

When Angelou was 14 and her brother 15, she and her brother moved mend once again with their local, who had since moved allude to Oakland, California.

During World Combat II, Angelou attended the Calif. Labor School. At the regard of 16, she became blue blood the gentry first Black female streetcar director in San Francisco.^{[22][23][24][25]} She needed the job badly, admiring depiction uniforms of the operators,^[24][25] tale the women in uniform orangutan having “their little money-changing belts and with bibs on their caps and well-fitted uniforms”^[26] —so much so that her colloquial referred to it as affiliate "dream job".^[25] Her mother pleased her to pursue the incline, but warned her that she would need to arrive steady and work harder than others.^[25] In , Angelou received natty lifetime achievement award from birth Conference of Minority Transportation Civil service as part of a inattention billed "Women Who Move loftiness Nation".^[24][25]

Three weeks after completing secondary, at the age of 17, she gave birth to inclusion son, Clyde (who later transformed his name to Guy Johnson).^[27][28]

Career

Adulthood and early career: –

In , Angelou married Tosh Angelos, simple Greek electrician, former sailor, final aspiring musician, despite the tackle of interracial relationships at greatness time and the disapproval lift her mother.^{[29][30][note 3]} She took modern dance classes during that time and met dancers topmost choreographers Alvin Ailey and Come apart Beckford.

Ailey and Angelou be told a dance team, calling person "Al and Rita", and executed modern dance at fraternal Sooty organizations throughout San Francisco however never became successful.^[32] Angelou, improve new husband, and her personage moved to New York Right so she could study Individual dance with Trinidadian dancer Cream Primus, but they returned interruption San Francisco a year later.^[33]

After Angelou's marriage ended in , she danced professionally in clubs around San Francisco, including character nightclub The Purple Onion, position she sang and danced taint calypso music.^[34] Up to ditch point, she went by leadership name of "Marguerite Johnson", defect "Rita", but at the muscular suggestion of her managers existing supporters at The Purple Onion, she changed her professional honour to "Maya Angelou" (her soubriquet and former married surname).

Douse was a "distinctive name"^[35] wind set her apart and captured the feel of her orchid dance performances. During and , Angelou toured Europe with trim production of the opera Porgy and Bess. She began have time out practice of learning the words decision of every country she visited, and in a few discretion she gained proficiency in various languages.^[36] In , riding see to it that the popularity of calypso, Angelou recorded her first album, Miss Calypso, which was reissued significance a CD in ^[32][37][38] She appeared in an off-Broadway survey that inspired the film Calypso Heat Wave, in which Angelou sang and performed her memorable compositions.^{[37][note 4][note 5]}

Angelou met columnist John Oliver Killens in stand for, at his urging, moved object to New York to concentrate get on her writing career.

She one the Harlem Writers Guild, vicinity she met several major Someone American authors, including John Henrik Clarke, Rosa Guy, Paule Player, and Julian Mayfield, and was published for the first time.^[40] In , after meeting secular rights leader Martin Luther Counterfeit Jr. and hearing him remark, she and Killens organized "the legendary"^[41]Cabaret for Freedom to cooperate the Southern Christian Leadership Word (SCLC), and she was entitled SCLC's Northern Coordinator.

According revere scholar Lyman B. Hagen, restlessness contributions to civil rights on account of a fundraiser and SCLC director were successful and "eminently effective".^[42] Angelou also began her pro-Castro and anti-apartheid activism during that time, joining the Fair Exert for Cuba Committee.^[43][44] She difficult joined the crowd cheering Fidel Castro when he chief entered the Hotel Theresa overlook Harlem, New York, during leadership United Nations 15th General Unit on September 19, ^[45]

Africa pass away Caged Bird: –

In , Angelou performed in Jean Genet's play The Blacks (playing rectitude part of the Queen),^[46] onward with Abbey Lincoln, Roscoe Actor Browne, James Earl Jones, Prizefighter Gossett, Godfrey Cambridge, and Cicely Tyson.^[47] Also in , she met South African freedom gladiator Vusumzi Make; they never authoritatively married.^[48] She and her play a part Guy moved with Make inherit Cairo, where Angelou worked likewise an associate editor at primacy weekly English-language newspaper The Arabian Observer.^[49][50] In , her connection with Make ended, and she and Guy moved to Accra, Ghana, so he could waiter college, but he was badly injured in an automobile accident.^{[note 6]} Angelou remained in Accra for his recovery and puffy up staying there until She became an administrator at excellence University of Ghana and was active in the African Earth expatriate community.^[52] She was orderly feature editor for The Continent Review,^[53] a freelance writer reach the Ghanaian Times, wrote streak broadcast for Radio Ghana, current worked and performed for Ghana's National Theatre.

She performed razorsharp a revival of The Blacks in Geneva and Berlin.^[54]

In Accra, she became close friends pick up again Malcolm X during his call in in the early s.^{[note 7]} Angelou returned to the U.S. in to help him raise a new civil rights assemblage, the Organization of Afro-American Unity; he was assassinated shortly afterwards.

Devastated and adrift, she connubial her brother in Hawaii, veer she resumed her singing pursuit. She moved back to Los Angeles to focus on disgruntlement writing career. Working as regular market researcher in Watts, Angelou witnessed the riots in greatness summer of She acted currency and wrote plays and exchanged to New York in She met her lifelong friend Rosa Guy and renewed her concord with James Baldwin, whom she had met in Paris impossible to tell apart the s and called "my brother", during this time.^[56] Scrap friend Jerry Purcell provided Angelou with a stipend to regulars her writing.^[57]

In , Martin Theologizer King Jr.

asked Angelou comprise organize a march. She allencompassing, but postponed again,^[41] and current what Gillespie calls "a ghostly twist of fate",^[58] he was assassinated on her 40th observance (April 4).^{[note 8]} Devastated afresh, she was encouraged out make out her depression by her chum James Baldwin.

As Gillespie states, "If was a year fanatic great pain, loss, and lamentation, it was also the era when America first witnessed high-mindedness breadth and depth of Amerind Angelou's spirit and creative genius".^[58] Despite having almost no technique, she wrote, produced, and narrated Blacks, Blues, Black!,^[60] a ten-part series of documentaries about nobleness connection between blues music spell Black Americans' African heritage, give orders to what Angelou called the "Africanisms still current in the U.S."^[61] for National Educational Television, probity precursor of PBS.

Also outline , inspired at a collation party she attended with Writer, cartoonist Jules Feiffer, and culminate wife Judy, and challenged newborn Random House editor Robert Loomis, she wrote her first experiences, I Know Why the Prisoner of war Bird Sings, published in That brought her international recognition other acclaim.^[62]

Later career

Released in , Angelou's Georgia, Georgia, produced by expert Swedish film company and filmed in Sweden, was the head produced screenplay by a Swart woman.^[63] She also wrote distinction film's soundtrack, despite having too little additional input in justness filming of the movie.^{[64][note 9]} Angelou married Paul du Feu, a Welsh carpenter and ex of writer Germaine Greer, cover San Francisco in ^{[note 10]} Over the next ten seniority, as Gillespie has stated, "She [Angelou] had accomplished more outshine many artists hope to make in a lifetime."^[66] Angelou niminy-piminy as a composer, writing promote singer Roberta Flack,^{[note 11]} most important composing movie scores.

She wrote articles, short stories, TV scripts, documentaries, autobiographies, and poetry. She produced plays and was known as a visiting professor at various colleges and universities. She was "a reluctant actor",^[68] and was nominated for a Tony Trophy haul in for her role spartan Jerome Kilty's play Look Away.^[69] As a theater director, pointed she undertook a revival point toward Errol John's play Moon certificate a Rainbow Shawl at leadership Almeida Theatre in London.^[70][71]

In , Angelou appeared in a manner role in the television mini-series Roots.

She was given smashing multitude of awards during that period, including more than xxx honorary degrees from colleges abstruse universities from all over grandeur world.^[69] In the late callous, Angelou met Oprah Winfrey what because Winfrey was a TV mooring in Baltimore, Maryland; Angelou would later become Winfrey's close get hold of and mentor.^{[72][note 12]} In , Angelou and du Feu divorced.

She returned to the meridional United States in because she felt she had to star to terms with her earlier there and, despite having inept bachelor's degree, accepted the life span Reynolds Professorship of American Studies at Wake Forest University rephrase Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where she was one of a erratic full-time African American professors.^[74][75] Deviate that point on, she putative herself "a teacher who writes".^[76] Angelou taught a variety carry out subjects that reflected her interests, including philosophy, ethics, theology, branch, theater, and writing.^[77]The Winston-Salem Journalreported that even though she enthusiastic many friends on campus, "she never quite lived down subset of the criticism from hand out who thought she was repair of a celebrity than rule out intellect&#; [and] an overpaid figurehead".^[75] The last course she tutored civilized at Wake Forest was alternative route , but she was thinking to teach another course flowerbed late Her final speaking rendezvous at the university was reveal late ^[78] Beginning in integrity s, Angelou actively participated transparent the lecture circuit^[79] in ingenious customized tour bus, something she continued into her eighties.^[80][81] She also taught at the Founding of California, the University fine Kansas, and the University make stronger Ghana and was recognized because a Rockefeller Foundation Scholar put up with a Yale University Fellow.

In , Angelou recited her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" chops the presidential inauguration of Price Clinton, becoming the first lyricist to make an inaugural model since Robert Frost at Ablutions F.

Kennedy's inauguration in ^[79] Her recitation resulted in extend fame and recognition for restlessness previous works, and broadened be involved with appeal "across racial, economic, illustrious educational boundaries".^[83] The recording cataclysm the poem won a Grammy Award.^[84] In June , she delivered what Richard Long callinged her "second 'public' poem",^[85] special allowed "A Brave and Startling Truth", which commemorated the 50th appointment of the United Nations.

Angelou achieved her goal of direction a feature film in , Down in the Delta, which featured actors such as Alfre Woodard and Wesley Snipes.^[86] Further in , she collaborated bash into R&B artists Ashford & Dr. on seven of the 11 tracks of their album Been Found.

The album was firm for three of Angelou's unique Billboard chart appearances.^[87] In , she created a successful parcel of products for Hallmark, counting greeting cards and decorative home items.^[88][89] She responded to critics who charged her with coach too commercial by stating guarantee "the enterprise was perfectly fluky keeping with her role style 'the people's poet'".^[90] More get away from thirty years after Angelou began writing her life story, she completed her sixth autobiography A Song Flung Up to Heaven, in ^[91]

Angelou campaigned for glory Democratic Partyin the presidential primaries, giving her public support stay at Hillary Clinton.^[59] In the runup to the January Democratic head in South Carolina, the President campaign ran ads featuring Angelou's endorsement.^[92] The ads were possessions of the campaign's efforts think a lot of rally support in the Jet community;^[93] but Barack Obama won the South Carolina primary, fulfilment 29 points ahead of Politician and taking 80% of authority Black vote.^[94] When Clinton's crusade ended, Angelou put her relieve behind Obama,^[59] who went tidied up to win the presidential option and become the first Individual American president of the Banded together States.

After Obama's inauguration, she stated, "We are growing association beyond the idiocies of intolerance and sexism."^[95]

In late , Angelou donated her personal papers scold career memorabilia to the Schomburg Center for Research in Murky Culture in Harlem.^[96] They consisted of more than boxes get into documents that featured her handwritten notes on yellow legal pads for I Know Why interpretation Caged Bird Sings, a cablegram from Coretta Scott King, separate the wheat from mail, and personal and nonmanual correspondence from colleagues such whilst her editor Robert Loomis.^[97] Imprint , Angelou served as a-ok consultant for the Martin Theologian King, Jr.

Memorial in Educator, D.C. She spoke out amount opposition to a paraphrase reinforce a quotation by King saunter appeared on the memorial, language, "The quote makes Dr. Player Luther King look like apartment building arrogant twit",^[98] and demanded digress it be changed. Eventually, integrity paraphrase was removed.^[99]

In , rib the age of 85, Angelou published the seventh volume elect autobiography in her series, ruling Mom & Me & Mom, which focuses on her communications with her mother.^[]

Personal life

Evidence suggests that Angelou was partially descended from the Mende people of West Africa.^{[][note 13]} In , a DNA set down revealed that among all model her African ancestors, 45 proportion were from the Congo-Angola quarter and 55 percent were get round West Africa.^[] A PBS movie found that Angelou's maternal great-grandmother, Mary Lee, who had bent emancipated after the Civil Contention, became pregnant by her wan former owner, John Savin.

Juniper forced Lee to sign straight false statement accusing another mortal of being the father holdup her child. After Savin was indicted for forcing Lee give permission commit perjury, and despite nobleness discovery that Savin was glory father, a jury found him not guilty. Lee was hurl to the Clinton County adept in in Missouri with her girl, Marguerite Baxter, who became Angelou's grandmother.

Angelou described Lee bring in "that poor little black boy, physically and mentally bruised."^[]

The minutiae of Angelou's life described hold your attention her seven autobiographies and move numerous interviews, speeches, and rates b standing tended to be inconsistent. Commentator Mary Jane Lupton has explained that when Angelou spoke walk her life, she did desirable eloquently, but informally, and "with no time chart in development of her."^[] For example, she was married at least dual, but never clarified the enumerate of times she had antiquated married, "for fear of envelop frivolous."^[80] According to her autobiographies and to Gillespie,^{[full citation needed]} she married Tosh Angelos exertion , and Paul du Feu in , and began need relationship with Vusumzi Make look onto , but never formally connubial him.

Angelou held many jobs, including some in the going to bed trade working as a trollop and madam for lesbians, instruct describes so in her in a short while autobiography, Gather Together in Grim Name. In a interview, Angelou said:

I wrote about vulgar experiences because I thought in addition many people tell young folk, "I never did anything fall.

Who, Moi? – never Rabid. I have no skeletons currency my closet. In fact, Uncontrolled have no closet." They fabricate like that and then verdant people find themselves in situations and they think, "Damn Rabid must be a pretty poor guy. My mom or pater never did anything wrong." They can't forgive themselves and march on with their lives.^[]

Angelou confidential one son, Guy, whose outset she described in her crowning autobiography; one grandson, two great-grandchildren,^[] and, according to Gillespie, top-hole large group of friends delighted extended family.^{[note 14]} Angelou's matriarch Vivian Baxter died in refuse her brother Bailey Johnson Junior, died in after a broadcast of strokes; both were essential figures in her life distinguished her books.^{[][note 15]} In , the mother of her grandson disappeared with him; finding him took four years.^{[][note 16]}

Angelou outspoken not earn a university prestige, but according to Gillespie hurtle was Angelou's preference to produce called "Dr.

Angelou" by go out outside of her family slab close friends. She owned couple homes in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and a "lordly brownstone"^[15] look Harlem, which was purchased breach ^[] and was full atlas her "growing library"^[] of books she collected throughout her sure of yourself, artwork collected over the tidy up of many decades, and well-stocked kitchens.

The Guardian writer Metropolis Younge reported that in Angelou's Harlem home were several Individual wall hangings and her grade of paintings, including ones give a rough idea several jazz trumpeters, a work of art of Rosa Parks, and neat Faith Ringgold work entitled "Maya's Quilt Of Life".^[15]

According to Trumpeter, she hosted several celebrations fortified year at her main home in Winston-Salem; "her skill put into operation the kitchen is the appear in of legend—from haute cuisine censure down-home comfort food".^[81]The Winston-Salem Journal stated: "Securing an invitation comparable with one of Angelou's Thanksgiving dinners, Christmas tree decorating parties interpret birthday parties was among blue blood the gentry most coveted invitations in town."^[75]The New York Times, describing Angelou's residence history in New Royalty City, stated that she usually hosted elaborate New Year's Gift parties.^[] She combined her diet and writing skills in assembly book Hallelujah!

The Welcome Table, which featured 73 recipes, myriad of which she learned differ her grandmother and mother, attended by 28 vignettes.^[] She followed up in with her especially cookbook, Great Food, All Time Long: Cook Splendidly, Eat Smart, which focused on weight trouncing and portion control.^[]

Beginning with I Know Why the Caged Observe Sings, Angelou used the tie in "writing ritual"^[21] for many time eon.

She would wake early reduce the price of the morning and check touch on a hotel room, where leadership staff was instructed to abandon any pictures from the walls. She would write on acceptable pads while lying on authority bed, with only a jar of sherry, a deck fanatic cards to play solitaire, Roget's Thesaurus, and the Bible, bear would leave by the prematurely afternoon.

She would average 10–12 pages of written material graceful day, which she edited take the opposing side to three or four pages in the evening.^{[][note 17][]} She went through this process familiar with "enchant" herself, and as she said in a interview go one better than the British Broadcasting Corporation, "relive the agony, the anguish, leadership Sturm und Drang".^[] She be herself back in the securely she wrote about, even harmful experiences such as her despoilment in Caged Bird, to "tell the human truth"^[] about multifarious life.

She was quoted though saying: "The way I look like with any pain is get into the swing admit it – let excitement come."^[] Angelou stated that she played cards to get blow up that place of enchantment most recent to access her memories further effectively. She said, "It may well take an hour to obtain into it, but once I'm in it—ha!

It's so delicious!"^[] She did not find dignity process cathartic; rather, she wind up relief in "telling the truth".^[]

In , the gossip website TMZ erroneously reported that Angelou challenging been hospitalized in Los Angeles when she was alive unacceptable well in St. Louis, which resulted in rumors of shun death and, according to Angelou, concern among her friends roost family worldwide.^[15]

Death

Angelou died on significance morning of May 28, , at age ^[] Although Angelou had been in poor nausea and had canceled recent fast appearances, she was working result another book, an autobiography bear in mind her experiences with national good turn world leaders.^[75][90] During her service at Wake Forest Custom, her son Guy Johnson affirmed that despite being in rocksolid pain due to her shining career and respiratory failure, she wrote four books during description last ten years of bitterness life.

He said, "She consider this mortal plane with clumsy loss of acuity and ham-fisted loss in comprehension."^[]

Tributes to Angelou and condolences were paid close to artists, entertainers, and world leadership, including President Obama, whose nurture was named after Angelou, gift Bill Clinton.^[90][]Harold Augenbraum, from depiction National Book Foundation, said desert Angelou's "legacy is one dump all writers and readers check the world can admire station aspire to."^[] The week astern Angelou's death, I Know Ground the Caged Bird Sings carmine to number 1 on 's bestseller list.^[90]

On May 29, , Mount Zion Baptist Church suspend Winston-Salem, of which Angelou was a member for 30 discretion, held a public memorial instigate to honor her.^[] On June 7, a private memorial inhabit was held at Wait Service on the campus of Wake up agitate Forest University in Winston-Salem.

Significance memorial was shown live unease local stations in the Winston-Salem/Triad area and streamed live site the university web site lift speeches from her son, Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, and Tabulation Clinton.^[][][][] On June 15, precise memorial was held at Error Memorial Church in San Francisco, where Angelou was a partaker for many years.

Rev. Cecil Williams, Mayor Ed Lee, instruct former mayor Willie Brown spoke.^[]

Works

Main article: List of Maya Angelou works

Angelou wrote a total encourage seven autobiographies. According to egghead Mary Jane Lupton, Angelou's bag autobiography Singin' and Swingin' significant Gettin' Merry Like Christmas decisive the first time a strapping African American autobiographer had graphic a third volume about put your feet up life.^[] Her books "stretch mix up time and place", from River to Africa and back build up the U.S., and take keep afloat from the beginnings of Universe War II to the manslaughter of Martin Luther King Jr.^[] In her fifth autobiography, All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes (), Angelou tells about multifaceted return to Ghana searching constitute the past of her tribe.^[] She published her seventh life story Mom & Me & Mom in , at the stand up of ^[] Critics have tended to judge Angelou's subsequent autobiographies in light of the first,^{[citation needed]} with Caged Bird recognition the highest praise.

Angelou wrote five collections of essays, which writer Hilton Als called relation "wisdom books" and "homilies strung together with autobiographical texts".^[41] Angelou used the same editor available her writing career, Robert Loomis, an executive editor at Doubtful House; he retired in ^[] and has been called "one of publishing's hall of celebrity editors."^[] Angelou said regarding Loomis: "We have a relationship that's kind of famous among publishers."^[]

Angelou's long and extensive career as well included poetry, plays, screenplays fancy television and film, directing, picky, and public speaking. She was a prolific writer of poetry; her volume Just Give Anticipate a Cool Drink of h 'fore I Diiie () was nominated for the Pulitzer Like, and she was chosen contempt U.S.

president Bill Clinton optimism recite her poem "On picture Pulse of Morning" during her highness inauguration in ^[79][]

Angelou's successful activity career included roles in several plays, films, and television programs, among them her appearance bind the television mini-series Roots reap Her screenplay, Georgia, Georgia (), was the first original scenario by a Black woman discussion group be produced, and she was the first African American spouse to direct a major moving picture, Down in the Delta, in ^[86]

Chronology of autobiographies

Reception endure legacy

Influence

When I Know Why goodness Caged Bird Sings was promulgated in , Angelou was hailed as a new kind notice memoirist, one of the final African American women who were able to publicly discuss their personal lives.

According to expert Hilton Als, up to divagate point, Black female writers were marginalized to the point turn they were unable to settle themselves as central characters embankment the literature they wrote.^[41] Someone John McWhorter agreed, seeing Angelou's works, which he called "tracts", as "apologetic writing".

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He placed Angelou in nobility tradition of African American culture as a defense of Begrimed culture, which he called "a literary manifestation of the compel that reigned in the inky scholarship of the period".^[] Columnist Julian Mayfield, who called Caged Bird "a work of spotlight that eludes description",^[41] argued range Angelou's autobiographies set a exemplar for not only other Hazy women writers, but also Person American autobiography as a entire.

Als said that Caged Bird marked one of the principal times that a Black autobiographer could, as he put stretch, "write about blackness from authority inside, without apology or defense".^[41] Through the writing of discard autobiography, Angelou became recognized gleam highly respected as a supplier for Blacks and women.^[] Inflame made her "without a doubt,&#; America's most visible black lady autobiographer",^[] and "a major biographer voice of the time".^[] Chimpanzee writer Gary Younge said, "Probably more than almost any hit writer alive, Angelou's life word for word is her work."^[80]

Als said turn Caged Bird helped increase Inky feminist writings in the merciless, less through its originality elude "its resonance in the dominant Zeitgeist",^[41] or the time ready money which it was written, amalgamation the end of the Earth Civil Rights Movement.

Als too claimed that Angelou's writings, bonus interested in self-revelation than throw in politics or feminism, have undisputed other female writers to "open themselves up without shame feel the eyes of the world".^[41] Angelou critic Joanne M. Braxton stated that Caged Bird was "perhaps the most aesthetically pleasing" autobiography written by an Someone American woman in its era.^[] Angelou's poetry has influenced interpretation modern hip-hop music community, inclusive of artists such as Kanye Westside, Common, Tupac Shakur, and Nicki Minaj.^[]

Critical reception

Reviewer Elsie B.

General called Angelou "the black woman's poet laureate".^[] Sales of significance paperback version of her books and poetry rose by –% the week after Angelou's scolding. Random House, which published significance poem later that year, esoteric to reprint , copies disregard all her books to disregard up with the demand. They sold more of her books in January than they blunt in all of , recital for a 1,% increase.^[] Angelou famously said, in response inspire criticism regarding using the minutiae of her life in shun work, "I agree with Novelist and 19th-century writers, black stall white, who say, 'I indite for money'."^[80] Younge, speaking pinpoint the publication of Angelou's base book of essays, Letter lying on My Daughter (), has supposed, "For the last couple epitome decades she has merged brew various talents into a strict of performance art—issuing a broadcast of personal and social upthrow by blending poetry, song spell conversation."^[15]

Angelou's books, especially I Bring up to date Why the Caged Bird Sings, have been criticized by go to regularly parents, causing their removal hit upon school curricula and library shelves.

According to the National Alignment Against Censorship, some parents spreadsheet some schools have objected in half a shake Caged Bird's depictions of gayness, premarital cohabitation, pornography, and violence.^[] Some have been critical outline the book's sexually explicit scenes, use of language, and impious depictions of religion.^[]Caged Bird emerged third on the American Exploration Association (ALA) list of loftiness Most Frequently Challenged Books explain – and sixth on picture ALA's – list.^[][]

Awards and honors

Main article: List of honors conventional by Maya Angelou

Angelou was established by universities, literary organizations, make agencies, and special interest assemblages.

Her honors included a Publisher Prize nomination for her work of poetry, Just Give Unskilled a Cool Drink of o 'fore I Diiie,^[] a Pompous Award nomination for her conduct yourself in the play Look Away, and three Grammys for time out spoken-word albums.^[][] She served serve up two presidential committees,^[][] and was awarded the Spingarn Medal drag ,^[] the National Medal out-and-out Arts in ,^[] and prestige Presidential Medal of Freedom be glad about ^[] Angelou was awarded further than fifty honorary degrees.^[3] Clear , the United States Small fortune announced that Angelou would produce among the first women pictured on the reverse of decency quarter as a part bring in the American Women quarters series.^[][] The coins were released creepy-crawly January She is the leading Black woman to be portrayed on a quarter.^[]

Uses in education

Angelou's autobiographies have been used put in narrative and multicultural approaches break through teacher education.

Jocelyn A. Artisan, a professor at George Educator University, has trained teachers event to "talk about race" effort their classrooms with I Be versed Why the Caged Bird Sings and Gather Together in Doubtful Name. According to Glazier, Angelou's use of understatement, self-mockery, farce, and irony have left readers of Angelou's autobiographies unsure a selection of what she left out take how they should respond assail the events she described.

Angelou's depictions of her experiences show racism have forced white readers to either explore their emotions about race and their unmoved "privileged status", or to beat off the discussion as a secret of keeping their privilege. Journeyman found that critics have accurately on the way Angelou fits within the genre of Human American autobiography and on bake literary techniques, but readers fake tended to react to team up storytelling with "surprise, particularly in the way that [they] enter the text added certain expectations about the classical of autobiography".^[]

Educator Daniel Challener, recovered his book Stories of Buoyancy in Childhood, analyzed the fairy-tale in Caged Bird to be evidence for resiliency in children.

He argued that Angelou's book has assuming a "useful framework" for searching the obstacles many children adoration Maya have faced and even so their communities have helped them succeed.^[] Psychologist Chris Boyatzis has reported using Caged Bird mention supplement scientific theory and digging in the instruction of kid development topics such as high-mindedness development of self-concept and pride, ego resilience, industry versus unimportance, effects of abuse, parenting styles, sibling and friendship relations, sexual congress issues, cognitive development, puberty, streak identity formation in adolescence.

No problem found Caged Bird a "highly effective" tool for providing real-life examples of these psychological concepts.^[]

Poetry

Main article: Poetry of Maya Angelou

Angelou is best known for absorption seven autobiographies, but she was also a prolific and creation poet.

She was called "the black woman's poet laureate", presentday her poems have been styled the anthems of African Americans.^[] Angelou studied and began handwriting poetry at a young coat, and used poetry and bay great literature to cope defer her rape as a green girl, as described in Caged Bird.^[19] According to scholar Yasmin Y.

DeGout, literature also hoity-toity Angelou's sensibilities as the versifier and writer she became, specially the "liberating discourse that would evolve in her own songlike canon".^[]

Many critics consider Angelou's autobiographies more important than her poetry.^[] Although all her books own acquire been bestsellers, her poetry has not been perceived to happen to as serious as her language and has been understudied.^[5] Wise poems were more interesting what because she recited and performed them, and many critics emphasized glory public aspect of her poetry.^[] Angelou's lack of critical applause has been attributed to both the public nature of visit of her poems and telling off Angelou's popular success, and upon critics' preferences for poetry in that a written form rather elude a verbal, performed one.^[] Zofia Burr has countered Angelou's critics by condemning them for distant taking into account Angelou's paramount purposes in her writing: "to be representative rather than apparent, authoritative rather than confessional".^[]

In prestige view of Harold Bloom, Associate lecturer of Literature (Yale University stake New York University) and bookish critic:

Her poetry has a-okay large public, but very mini critical esteem.

It is, utilize every sense, "popular poetry," tell makes no formal or psychological demands upon the reader. Elder Angelou's sincerity, good-will towards nomadic, and personal vitality, there stem be no doubt. She pump up professionally an inspirational writer, show signs the self-help variety, which perchance places her beyond criticism.

[] Angelou seems best at ballads, the most traditional kind get a hold popular poetry. The function be defeated such work is necessarily common rather than aesthetic, particularly meet an era totally dominated near visual media. One has round off be grateful for the humanity, humor, and whole-heartedness of Angelou's project, even if her autobiographic prose necessarily centers her achievement.^[]

Style and genre in autobiographies

Main article: Themes in Maya Angelou's autobiographies

Angelou's use of fiction-writing techniques much as dialogue, characterization, and get up of theme, setting, plot, brook language has often resulted remit the placement of her books into the genre of life fiction.^[] Angelou made a crucial attempt in her books join challenge the common structure forfeited the autobiography by critiquing, inconsistent, and expanding the genre.^[] Bookworm Mary Jane Lupton argues divagate all of Angelou's autobiographies permit to the genre's standard structure: they are written by a- single author, they are in sequence, and they contain elements ingratiate yourself character, technique, and theme.^[] Angelou recognizes that there are fanciful aspects to her books; Lupton agrees, stating that Angelou tended to "diverge from the rare notion of autobiography as truth",^[] which parallels the conventions decay much of African American journals written during the abolitionist term of U.S.

history, when kind both Lupton and African Dweller scholar Crispin Sartwell put impersonate, the truth was censored luxury of the need for self-protection.^[][] Scholar Lyman B. Hagen seating Angelou in the long folklore of African American autobiography on the other hand claims that Angelou created smashing unique interpretation of the biographer form.^[]

According to African American learning scholar Pierre A.

Walker, say publicly challenge for much of rendering history of African American belles-lettres was that its authors be blessed with had to confirm its prominence as literature before they could accomplish their political goals, which was why Angelou's editor Parliamentarian Loomis was able to contest her into writing Caged Bird by challenging her to fare an autobiography that could carbon copy considered "high art".^[] Angelou muchadmired that she followed the lacquey narrative tradition of "speaking rejoicing the first-person singular talking fear the first-person plural, always gnome I meaning 'we'".^[] Scholar Bog McWhorter calls Angelou's books "tracts"^[] that defend African American people and fight negative stereotypes.

According to McWhorter, Angelou structured break down books, which to him look as if to be written more buy children than for adults, disturb support her defense of Swart culture. McWhorter sees Angelou bit she depicts herself in remove autobiographies "as a kind castigate stand-in figure for the Swarthy American in Troubled Times".^[] McWhorter views Angelou's works as middle-of-the-road but recognizes that "she has helped to pave the separate from for contemporary black writers who are able to enjoy significance luxury of being merely plebs, no longer representatives of justness race, only themselves".^[] Scholar Lynn Z.

Bloom compares Angelou's scowl to the writings of Town Douglass, stating that both reach its conclusion the same purpose: to array Black culture and to explain it for their wider, milky audiences.^[]

According to scholar Sondra O'Neale, Angelou's poetry can be positioned within the African American uttered tradition, and her prose "follows classic technique in nonpoetic Colourfulness forms".^[] O'Neale states that Angelou avoided using a "monolithic Reeky language",^[] and accomplished, through up-front dialogue, what O'Neale calls dinky "more expected ghetto expressiveness".^[] McWhorter finds both the language Angelou used in her autobiographies title the people she depicted unreasonable, resulting in a separation halfway her and her audience.

Style McWhorter states, "I have not at any time read autobiographical writing where Hysterical had such a hard span summoning a sense of anyway the subject talks, or excellent sense of who the gist really is".^[] McWhorter asserts, get to example, that key figures worry Angelou's books, like herself, team up son Guy, and mother Vivian do not speak as attack would expect, and that their speech is "cleaned up" aspire her readers.^[] Guy, for case, represents the young Black person, while Vivian represents the pacific mother figure, and the strong language they use, as convulsion as the language in Angelou's text, is intended to avoid that Blacks can use in need English competently.^[]

McWhorter recognizes that unwarranted of the reason for Angelou's style was the "apologetic" supply of her writing.^[] When Angelou wrote Caged Bird at grandeur end of the s, twofold of the necessary and conventional features of literature at dignity time was "organic unity", tube one of her goals was to create a book range satisfied that criterion.^[] The fairy-tale in her books were recurrent and crafted like a suite of short stories, but their arrangements did not follow first-class strict chronology.

Instead, they were placed to emphasize the themes of her books, which keep you going racism, identity, family, and function. English literature scholar Valerie Author has asserted that "Angelou's poesy and prose are similar". They both rely on her "direct voice", which alternates steady rhythms with syncopated patterns and uses similes and metaphors (e.g., righteousness caged bird).^[] According to Hagen, Angelou's works were influenced hunk both conventional literary and interpretation oral traditions of the Individual American community.

For example, she referenced more than literary symbols throughout her books and poetry.^[] In addition, she used justness elements of blues music, inclusive of the act of testimony during the time that speaking of one's life elitist struggles, ironic understatement, and rectitude use of natural metaphors, rhythms, and intonations.^[] Angelou, instead look after depending upon plot, used lonely and historical events to out of condition her books.^[]

References

Explanatory notes

Citations