Name originally Marguerite (some sources say Marguerita) Johnson; surname is pronounced "An-ge-lo"; born April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, United States; daughter of Bailey (a doorkeeper and naval dietician) and Vivian (a nurse and realtor; maiden name, Baxter) Johnson; married Tosh Angelou (divorced c. 1952); married Paul Du Feu, December, 1973 (divorced); children: Guy Johnson.

Angelou is hailed as one of the great voices of contemporary black  literature and as a remarkable Renaissance woman. She began producing books after some notable friends, including author James Baldwin, heard Angelou's stories of her childhood spent shuttling between rural, segregated Stamps, Arkansas, where her devout grandmother ran a general store, and St. Louis, Missouri, where her worldly, glamorous mother lived. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, a chronicle of her life up to age sixteen (and ending with the birth of her son, Guy) was published in 1970 with great critical and commercial success. Although many of the stories in the book are grim, as in the author's revelation that she was raped at age eight by her mother's boyfriend, the volume also recounts the self-awakening of the young Angelou. "Her genius as a writer is her ability to recapture the texture of the way of life in the texture of its idioms, its idiosyncratic vocabulary and especially in its process of image-making," reports Sidonie Ann Smith in Southern Humanities Review. "The imagery holds the reality, giving it immediacy. That [the author] chooses to recreate the past in its own sounds suggests to the reader that she accepts the past and recognizes its beauty and its ugliness, its assets and its liabilities, its strengths and its weaknesses. Here we witness a return to the final acceptance of the past in the return to and full acceptance of its language, the language a symbolic construct of a way of life. Ultimately Maya Angelou's style testifies to her reaffirmation of self-acceptance, [which] she achieves within the pattern of the autobiography."

Author, poet, playwright, professional stage and screen producer, director, and performer, and singer. Taught modern dance at Habima Theatre, Tel Aviv, Israel, and the Rome Opera House, Rome, Italy. Appeared in Porgy and Bess on twenty-two-nation tour sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, 1954-55; appeared in Off-Broadway plays Calypso Heatwave, 1957, and The Blacks, 1960; produced and performed in Cabaret for Freedom, with Godfrey Cambridge, Off-Broadway, 1960; University of Ghana, Institute of African Studies, Legon-Accra, Ghana, assistant administrator of School of Music and Drama, 1963-66; appeared in Mother Courage at University of Ghana, 1964, and in Meda in Hollywood, 1966; made Broadway debut in Look Away, 1973; directed film All Day Long, 1974; directed her play And Still I Rise in California, 1976; directed Errol John's Moon on a Rainbow Shawl in London, England, 1988; appeared in film Roots, 1977. Television narrator, interviewer, and host for Afro-American specials and theatre series, 1972. Lecturer at University of California, Los Angeles, 1966; writer in residence at University of Kansas, 1970; distinguished visiting professor at Wake Forest University, 1974, Wichita State University, 1974, and California State University, Sacramento, 1974; professor at Wake Forest University, 1981--. Northern coordinator of Southern Christian Leadership Conference, 1959-60; appointed member of American Revolution Bicentennial Council by President Gerald R. Ford, 1975-76; member of National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year.

—Above excerpted from information under copyright by Gale Research. 

Hear Ms Angelou at the Million Man March
 

Maya Angelou: A Glorious Celebration
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Written by Marcia Ann Gillespie , Rosa Johnson Butler and Richard A. Long
Foreword by Oprah Winfrey

Category: Biography & Autobiography - People of Color
Format: Hardcover, 208 pages
On Sale: April 1, 2008
Price: $30.00
ISBN: 978-0-385-51108-7 (0-385-51108-6)

Beautifully designed and featuring over 150 sepia portraits, family photographs, and letters from the life of one of the world’s most beloved and admired artists, this moving biography will appeal to all fans of the poet laureate, phenomenal bestselling author, and scribe for the people, Dr. Maya Angelou.

Maya Angelou’s memoirs, essay and poetry collections, and cookbooks have sold millions of copies. Now, MAYA ANGELOU: A GLORIOUS CELEBRATION offers an unusual and irresistible look at her life and her myriad interests and accomplishments. Created by the people who know her best—her longtime friends Marcia Ann Gillespie and Richard Long, and her niece Rosa Johnson Butler—it is part tribute, part scrapbook, capturing Angelou at home, at work, and in the public eye. Readers who have come to know and love Maya Angelou will be surprised and delighted by this personal, illustrated portrait of the renowned poet, author, playwright, and humanitarian.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
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Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Bantam (April 1, 1983)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0553279378

A phenomenal #1 bestseller that has appeared on the New York Times bestseller list for nearly three years, this memoir traces Maya Angelou's childhood in a small, rural community during the 1930s. Filled with images and recollections that point to the dignity and courage of black men and women.

Angelou paints a sometimes disquieting, but always affecting picture of the people--and the times--that touched her life.

"This testimony from a black sister marks the beginning of a new era in the minds and hearts of all black men and women... I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, liberates the reader into life simply because Maya Angelou confronts her own life with such a moving wonder, such a luminous dignity. I have no words for this achievement, but I know that not since the days of my childhood, when the people in books were more real than the people one saw every day, have I found myself so moved... Her portrait is a biblical study in life in the midst of death." —James Baldwin

"Simultaneously touching and comic" —The New York Times

"It is a heroic and beautiful book." —Clevland Plain Dealer

"Maya Angelou is a natural writer with an inordinate sense of life and she has written and exceptional autobiographical narrative... a beautiful book -- an unconditionally involving memoir for our time or any time." —The Kirkus Reviews

Mother: A Cradle to Hold Me
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ISBN: 1400066018
Pub. Date: April 2006
Format: Hardcover, 32pp
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

"With her signature eloquence and heartfelt appreciation, renowned poet and national treasure Maya Angelou celebrates the first woman we ever knew: Mother." From the beginnings of this profound relationship through teenage rebellion and, finally, to adulthood, where we stand to inherit timeless maternal wisdom, Angelou praises the patience, knowledge, and compassion of this remarkable parent. Perfect for Mother's Day, or for any day on which we wish to acknowledge this all-important bond, Mother is an awe-inspiring affirmation of the enduring love that exists in every corner of the globe.

Celebrations: Rituals of Peace and Prayer - Read by, Maya Angelou
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ISBN: 1400066107
Pub. Date: October 2006
Format: Hardcover, 128pp
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

Celebrations on Random House which includes memorial tributes to the late Barry White and Luther Vandross, "On the Pulse of Morning" written for Bill Clinton’s 1993 inauguration and a birthday wishes to Oprah was released

Book Description
Grace, dignity, and eloquence have long been hallmarks of Maya Angelou’s poetry. Her measured verses have stirred our souls, energized our minds, and healed our hearts. Whether offering hope in the darkest of nights or expressing sincere joy at the extraordinariness of the everyday, Maya Angelou has served as our common voice.

Celebrations is a collection of timely and timeless poems that are an integral part of the global fabric. Several works have become nearly as iconic as Angelou herself: the inspiring “On the Pulse of Morning,” read at President William Jefferson Clinton’s 1993 inauguration; the heartening “Amazing Peace,” presented at the 2005 lighting of the National Christmas Tree at the White House; “A Brave and Startling Truth,” which marked the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations; and “Mother,” which beautifully honors the first woman in our lives. Angelou writes of celebrations public and private, a bar mitzvah wish to her nephew, a birthday greeting to Oprah Winfrey, and a memorial tribute to the late Luther Vandross and Barry White.

More than a writer, Angelou is a chronicler of history, an advocate for peace, and a champion for the planet, as well as a patriot, a mentor, and a friend. To be shared and cherished, the wisdom and poetry of Maya Angelou proves there is always cause for celebration.

Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem
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ISBN: 1400065585
Format: Hardcover, 32pp
Pub. Date: December 2005
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

In this beautiful, deeply moving poem, Maya Angelou inspires us to embrace the peace and promise of Christmas, so that hope and love can once again light up our holidays and the world. “Angels and Mortals, Believers and Nonbelievers, look heavenward,” she writes, “and speak the word aloud. Peace.”

Read by the poet at the lighting of the National Christmas Tree at the White House on December 1, 2005, Maya Angelou’s celebration of the “Glad Season” is a radiant affirmation of the goodness of life and a beautiful holiday gift for people of all faiths.

Hallelujah! The Welcome Table
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ISBN: 1400062896
Format: Hardcover, 240pp
Pub. Date: September 2004
Publisher: Random House Adult Trade Publishing Group

Throughout Maya Angelou’s life, from her childhood in Stamps, Arkansas, to her world travels as a bestselling writer, good food has played a central role. Preparing and enjoying homemade meals provides a sense of purpose and calm, accomplishment and connection. Now in Hallelujah! The Welcome Table, Angelou shares memories pithy and poignant–and the recipes that helped to make them both indelible and irreplaceable.

Angelou tells us about the time she was expelled from school for being afraid to speak–and her mother baked a delicious maple cake to brighten her spirits. She gives us her recipe for short ribs along with a story about a job she had as a cook at a Creole restaurant (never mind that she didn’t know how to cook and had no idea what Creole food might entail). There was the time in London when she attended a wretched dinner party full of wretched people; but all wasn’t lost–she did experience her initial taste of a savory onion tart. She recounts her very first night in her new home in Sonoma, California, when she invited M. F. K. Fisher over for cassoulet, and the evening Deca Mitford roasted a chicken when she was beyond tipsy–and created Chicken Drunkard Style. And then there was the hearty brunch Angelou made for a homesick Southerner, a meal that earned her both a job offer and a prophetic compliment: “If you can write half as good as you can cook, you are going to be famous.”

Maya Angelou is renowned in her wide and generous circle of friends as a marvelous chef. Her kitchen is a social center. From fried meat pies, chicken livers, and beef Wellington to caramel cake, bread pudding, and chocolateéclairs, the one hundred-plus recipes included here are all tried and true, and come from Angelou’s heart and her home. Hallelujah! The Welcome Table is a stunning collaboration between the two things Angelou loves best: writing and cooking.

A Song Flung Up to Heaven
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ISBN: 0375507477
Format: Hardcover, 224pp
Pub. Date: April 2002
Publisher: The Random House Publishing Group

The sixth volume of Angelou's autobiography

"A Song Flung Up to Heaven opens as Maya Angelou returns from Africa to the United States to work with Malcolm X. But first she has to journey to California to be reunited with her mother and brother. No sooner does she arrive there than she learns that Malcolm X has been assassinated." "Devastated, she tries to put her life back together, working on the stage in local theaters and even conducting a door-to-door survey in Watts. Then Watts explodes in violence, a riot she describes firsthand." "Subsequently, on a trip to New York, she meets Martin Luther King, Jr., who asks her to become his coordinator in the North, and she visits black churches all over America to help support King's Poor People's March." But once again tragedy strikes. King is assassinated, and this time Angelou completely withdraws from the world, unable to deal with this horrible event. Finally, James Baldwin forces her out of isolation and insists that she accompany him to a dinner party - where the idea for writing I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is born. In fact, A Song Flung Up to Heaven ends as Maya Angelou begins to write the first sentences of Caged Bird.

The Heart of a Woman (Oprah's Book Club Series)
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ISBN: 0375500723
Pub. Date: June 1997
Format: Hardcover, 288pp
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

"At times Maya brings the reader into her own concept of what is really our life purpose. Maya has an phenomenal way of showing emotion through her writing that makes the reader reflect how life sometimes knocks us off our feet - but we must get back up. One of these ways is by forgiving all and learning from life lessons. This, in part, will bring out the very best in oneself: Maya Angelou delivers this in her autobiography. As in The Heart of the Woman, we all need to forgive ourselves as well as others and take life as it comes from within the heart. As James Baldwin stated, "I know that not since the days of my childhood, when people in books were more real than the people one saw every day, have I found myself so moved." -Nichel Anderson

From the Publisher
Maya Angelou has fascinated, moved, and inspired countless readers with the first three volumes of her autobiography, one of the most remarkable personal narratives of our age. Now, in her fourth volume, The Heart of a Woman, her turbulent life breaks wide open with joy as the singer-dancer enters the razzle-dazzle of fabulous New York City. There, at the Harlem Writers Guild, her love for writing blazes anew.

Her compassion and commitment lead her to respond to the fiery times by becoming the northern coordinator of Martin Luther King's history-making quest. A tempestuous, earthy woman, she promises her heart to one man only to have it stolen, virtually on her weding day, by a passionate African freedom fighter.

Filled with unforgettable vignettes of famous characters, from Billie Holiday to Malcolm X, The Heart of a Woman sings with Maya Angelou's eloquent prose — her fondest dreams, deepest disappointments, and her dramatically tender relationship with her rebellious teenage son. Vulnerable, humorous, tough, Maya speaks with an intimate awareness of the heart within all of us

Even the Stars Look Lonesome

ISBN: 0375500316
Pub. Date: September 1997
Format: Hardcover, 145pp
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

Even the Stars Look Lonesome is Maya Angelou talking of the things she cares about most. In her unique, spellbinding way, she re-creates intimate personal experiences and gives us her wisdom on a wide variety of subjects. She tells us how a house can both hurt its occupants and heal them. She talks about Africa. She gives us a profile of Oprah. She enlightens us about age and sexuality. She confesses to the problems fame brings and shares with us the indelible lessons she has learned about rage and violence. And she sings the praises of sensuality.

All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes
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ISBN: 0679457747
Pub. Date: May 1997
Format: Hardcover, 224pp
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

This is the fifth volume in Maya Angelou's successful autobiography.

All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes takes Maya to Ghana, where she joins a community of black Americans. In a vivid celebration of the sights, sounds, and feelings of Africa, Maya Angelou also explores what it means to be African-American on the mother continent, where color no longer matters, but where American-ness asserts itself in ways both puzzling and heartbreaking. Once again, she longs for home.

The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou
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ISBN: 067942895X
Pub. Date: January 1994
Format: Hardcover, 288pp
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

For the first time, the complete collection of Maya Angelou's published poems-including "On the Pulse of Morning"-in a permanent collectible, handsome hardcover edition.

Sales of Maya Angelou's Wouldn't Take Nothing For My Journey Now and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings surged dramatically after her soul-stirring reading at President Clinton's inauguration. Now, for the first time, the complete collection of her published poems is offered--in a handsome hardcover edition.

The poems incolude "Phenomenal Woman," "Still I Rise", "Weekend Glory," and "Our Grandmothers," are among the most remembered and acclaimed of Maya Angelou's poems. They celebrate women with a majesty that has inspired and touched the hearts of millions.

A beautiful gift - to keep and to give.

Phenomenal Woman: Four Poems Celebrating Women
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ISBN: 0679439242
Pub. Date: January 1994
Format: Hardcover, 22pp
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

Maya Angelou, the bestselling author of On the Pulse of Morning, Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now, and other lavishly praised works, is considered one of America's finest poets. Here, four of her most highly acclaimed poems are assembled in a beautiful gift edition that provides a feast for the eyes as well as the heart.

Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now
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Maya Angelou

Hardcover
Publisher: Random House (1993)
ISBN-10: 0394223632

Maya Angelou, one of the best-loved authors of our time, shares the wisdom of a remarkable life in this best-selling spiritual classic. This is Maya Angelou talking from the heart, down to earth and real, but also inspiring. This is a book to treasured, a book about being in all ways a woman, about living well, about the power of the word, and about the power do spirituality to move and shape your life. Passionate, lively, and lyrical, Maya Angelou's latest unforgettable work offers a gem of truth on every page.

Life Doesn't Frighten Me
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by Maya Angelou, Jean-Michel Basquiat (Illustrator)

ISBN: 1556702884
Pub. Date: February 1996
Age Range: 8 to 11
Format: Hardcover, 32pp
Publisher: Stewart, Tabori & Chang, Inc.

Presents Maya Angelou's poem illustrated by paintings and drawings of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Features biographies of both the author and artist.

Shadows on the wall
Noises down the hall
Life doesn't frighten me at all

Maya Angelou's brave, defiant poem celebrates the courage within each of us, young and old. From the scary thought of panthers in the park to the unsettling scene of a new classroom, fearsome images are summoned and dispelled by the power of faith in ourselves.

Angelou's strong words are matched by the daring vision of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, whose childlike style reveals the powerful emotions and fanciful imaginings of childhood. Together, Angelou's words and Basquiat's paintings create a place where every child, indeed every person, may experience his or her own fearlessness.

In this brilliant introduction to poetry and contemporary art, brief biographies of Angelou and Basquiat accompany the text and artwork, focusing on the strengths they took from their lives and brought to their work. A selected bibliography of Angelou's books and a selected museum listing of Basquiat's works open the door to further inspiration through the fine arts.

Complete Collected Poems   
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ISBN: 1844082237
Pub. Date:
Format: Paperback

Editors Note: Publication date and Publisher are not clear
Publisher: Gardners Books (June 30, 2007)
Virago Press Ltd; New Ed edition (November 1, 2008)

Maya Angelou's poetry - lyrical and dramatic, exuberant and playful - speaks of love, longings, partings; of Saturday night partying and the smells and sounds of Southern cities; of freedom and shattered dreams. Of her poetry, Kirkus Reviews has written, 'It is just as much a part of her autobiography as I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Gather Together in My Name, Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas, and The Heart of a Woman'

Maya Angelou: Diversity Makes for a Rich Tapestry
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written by Donna Brown Agins

ISBN: 0766024695
Pub. Date: June 2006
Format: Hardcover, 128pp
Publisher: Enslow Publishers, Incorporated

An NAACP Image Award Nominee 2006

"I speak to the black experience," says Maya Angelou, "but I am always talking about the human condition." From the child raised by her grandmother in a small village in Arkansas to the writer known as a National Treasure, Angelou has lived a remarkable life. She rose from pain and poverty to achieve success as a dancer, an actress, a teacher, an award-winning author. Readers of Donna Brown Agins's compelling new profile will understand and appreciate why Angelou is one of the best-loved and most fascinating American writers.

Related Links

Maya Angelou Homepage
http://www.mayaangelou.com/

Maya Angelou's Titles Include
Children's Books
My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken, & Me
Kofi and His Magic

 

 

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