List of Maya Angelou works

The works of Maya Angelou encompass autobiography, poetry, plays, screenplays for television and film, directing, acting, and speaking.[1] She is best known for her series of six autobiographies, starting with the critically acclaimed I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), which was nominated for aNational Book Award.[2] Angelou did not write Caged Bird with the intention of writing a series of autobiographies, but critics have "judged the subsequent autobiographies in light of the first".[3]

Angelou's autobiographies are distinct in style and narration, and "stretch over time and place",[4] from Arkansas to Africa and back to the US. They take place from the beginnings of World War II to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.[4] Angelou has written collections of essays, including Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now (1993) and Even the Stars Look Lonesome (1997), which writer Hilton Als called her "wisdom books" and "homilies strung together with autobiographical texts".[5] Angelou has used the same editor throughout her writing career, Robert Loomis, an executive editor at Random House, who retired in 2011[6] and has been called "one of publishing's hall of fame editors."[7] Angelou has said regarding Loomis: "We have a relationship that's kind of famous among publishers".[8]

All my work, my life, everything I do is about survival, not just bare, awful, plodding survival, but survival with grace and faith. While one may encounter many defeats, one must not be defeated". --Maya Angelou[9]

Angelou's long and extensive career also includes poetry, plays, screenplays for television and film, directing, acting, and public speaking. She is one of the most honored writers of her generation, earning an extended list of honors and awards, as well as over thirty honorary degrees.[2] She is a prolific writer of poetry; her volume Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie (1971) was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize,[10] and she was chosen by President Bill Clinton to recite her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" during his inauguration in 1993.[11]

Angelou's successful acting career has included roles in numerous plays, films, and television programs, including her appearance in the television mini-series Roots in 1977. Her screenplay,Georgia, Georgia (1972), was the first original script by a black woman to be produced.[12] and she was the first African American woman to direct a major motion picture, Down in the Delta, in 1998.[13] Since the 1990s, Angelou has actively participated in the lecture circuit,[11] something she continued into her eighties.[14][15]

Contents

Literature

Autobiographies

Poetry

Personal essays

Children's books

  • Itak of Lapland
  • Angelina of Italy
  • Renée Marie of France
  • Mikale of Hawaii

Plays

Film and television

  • Who Cares About Kids & Kindred Spirits (KERA-TV, Dallas, Texas).
  • Maya Angelou: Rainbow in the Clouds (WTVS-TV, Detroit, Michigan).
  • To the Contrary (Maryland Public Television).
  • Tapestry and Circles.

Films and plays

Recordings

Spoken-Word Albums

Radio

References

  1. ^ Unless otherwise stated, the items in this list are from Gillespie et al, pp. 186—191.
  2. ^ a b Moore, Lucinda (2003-04-01). "A Conversation with Maya Angelou at 75". Smithsonian. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/angelou.html?page=1. Retrieved 2007-10-02. 
  3. ^ "Maya Angelou". Poetry Foundation. http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=180. Retrieved 2007-10-25. 
  4. ^ a b Lupton, Mary Jane (1998). Maya Angelou: A Critical Companion. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 1. ISBN 0-313-30325-8. 
  5. ^ Als, Hilton. "Songbird: Maya Angelou Takes Another Look at Herself". The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2002/08/05/020805crbo_books?currentPage=all. Retrieved 2012-01-01. 
  6. ^ Italie, Hillel (2011-05-06). "Robert Loomis, Editor of Styron, Angelou, Retires". The Washington Times (Associated Press). http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/may/6/robert-loomis-editor-of-styron-angelou-retires/. Retrieved 2012-01-01. 
  7. ^ Arnold, Martin (2001-04-12). "Making Books; Familiarity Breeds Content". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9801E0D91731F931A25757C0A9679C8B63&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/T/Tyler,%20Anne. Retrieved 2007-11-12. 
  8. ^ Tate, Claudia (1999). "Maya Angelou: An Interview". In Joanne M. Braxton. Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: A Casebook. New York: Oxford Press. p. 155. ISBN ISBN 0-1951-1606-2. 
  9. ^ McPherson, Dolly A. (1990). Order Out of Chaos: The Autobiographical Works of Maya Angelou. New York: Peter Lang Publishing. pp. 10—11. ISBN 0-820411-39-6. 
  10. ^ Gillespie et al, p. 103
  11. ^ a b Manegold, Catherine S. (1993-01-20). "An Afternoon with Maya Angelou; A Wordsmith at Her Inaugural Anvil". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE5D81E30F933A15752C0A965958260&n=Top%2FReference%2FTimes%20Topics%2FPeople%2FA%2FAngelou%2C%20Maya. Retrieved 2007-10-02. 
  12. ^ "Maya Angelou: A Brief Biography". African Overseas Union. http://www.houstonprogressive.org/africanoverseasunion/mayaangelou.html. Retrieved 2007-10-07. 
  13. ^ Gillespie et al, p. 144
  14. ^ Younge, Gary (2002–05–25). "No Surrender". The Guardian. http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/biography/story/0,,720909,00.html. Retrieved 2012–01–01. 
  15. ^ Gillespie et al, p. 9
  16. ^ Moyer, Homer E. (2003). The R.A.T. Real-World Aptitude Test: Preparing Yourself for Leaving Home. Sterling, Virginia: Capital Books. pp. 297. ISBN 1-931868-42-5. 
  17. ^ a b Brown, Avonie (1997-01-04). "Maya Angelou: The Phenomenal Woman Rises Again". New York Amsterdam News 88 (1): p. 2. 
  18. ^ A poem from this collection, "My Life Has Turned to Blue", was made into the title track of Nancy Wilson's album, Turned to Blue, in 2006.
  19. ^ a b Waldron, Clarence (2006-12-25). "Maya Angelou: On Christmas, Dave Chappelle and What Inspires Her". Jet (110): p. 29. http://books.google.com/books?id=qzsDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA29&lpg=PA29&dq=%22Maya+Angelou%22+%22My+Life+has+turned+to+blue%22&source=bl&ots=hFHb4d4gyV&sig=mSc3nEOPaDJC8gYqPksZmZExYXM&hl=en&ei=cBSKTqrdJ4GqsQKa1eWbDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CFQQ6AEwCDge#v=onepage&q=%22Maya%20Angelou%22%20%22My%20Life%20has%20turned%20to%20blue%22&f=false. Retrieved 2011-10-04. 
  20. ^ Angelou, Maya. "On the Pulse of Morning". Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=AngPuls.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=1&division=div1. Retrieved 2007-05-28. 
  21. ^ Long, Richard (November 2005). "Maya Angelou". Smithsonian 36 (8): p. 84. 
  22. ^ Vena, Jocelyn (2009-07-07). "Maya Angelou's Poem about Michael Jackson: 'We Had Him'". MTV.com. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1615416/20090707/jackson_michael.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-07-11. 
  23. ^ a b Maughan, Shannon (2003-03-03). "Grammy Gold". Publishers Weekly 250 (9): p. 38. 
  24. ^ Waggoner, Martha (2006-09-13). "Maya Angelou to Host Show on XM Radio". Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2006Sep13/0,4670,PeopleAngelou,00.html. Retrieved 2007-09-28. 

Bibliography