Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou sings on the "Don't Quit Your Day Job" Records releases "There Is a Moral to It All" and "Stranger Than Fiction." She also gives a wonderful spoken-word performance in "A Celebration with Maya Angelou, Guy Johnson, and Janice Mirikitani."

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Biographical Information

Born Marguerite Johnson on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missosuri, Maya Angelou has been a novelist, poet, actor, teacher, and political activist. She attended public school in Stamps, Arkansas, and San Francisco, California, and speaks fluent English, French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, and West African Fanti. Smith College and Lawrence University awarded her honorary degrees, and Wake Forest University gave her a lifetime appointment as the First Reynold's Professor. Among her literary honors, she received a National Book Award nomination for I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and a Pulitzer Prize nomination for Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Diiie. Her acting gained a Tony Award nomination for her performance in "Look Away" and an Emmy Award nomination for her performance in "Roots."

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOVELS

• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, 1970 - On February 26, 1995, Bantam Books congratulated Maya Angelou for being the first African-American to be the longest-running (2 years) on The New York Times Paperback Nonfiction Bestseller list.
• Gather Together in My Name, 1974
• Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas, 1976
• The Heart of a Woman, 1981
• All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes, 1986
• Wouldn't Take Nothin' for My Journey Now, 1993 - Words of reflection and wisdom.

CHILDREN'S BOOKS

• Life Doesn't Frighten Me, 1993
• My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken and Me, 1994

POETRY

• Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Diiie,1971 - Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize
• Oh Pray My Wings are Gonna Fit Me Well, 1975
• And Still I Rise, 1978
• Shaker, Why Don't You Sing, 1983
• I Shall Not Be Moved, 1990
• Now Sheba Sings the Song, 1987
• "On the Pulse of the Morning" -- Written at the request of William Jefferson Clinton for his Inauguration as the 42nd President of the United States, January 20, 1993.
• The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou, 1994
• Phenomenal Woman: Four Poems for Women, 1995
• "A Brave and Startling Truth" -- Recited at the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations, June 26, 1995; Published October, 1995.
• "From a Black Woman to a Black Man" -- Delivered at the Million Man March in Washington, DC, October 16, 1995.

MUSIC RECORDINGS

• For the Love of Ivy (Sidney Poitier film)
• Miss Calypso, 1957, Liberty Records
• Georgia, Georgia, 1972
• All Day Long, 1974
• "There Is a Moral to It All," 1995, "Don't Quit Your Day Job" Records
• Miss Calypso, 1996

SPOKEN WORD RECORDINGS

• "The Poetry of Maya Angelou," 1969, GWP Records
• "Women in Business," 1981, University of Wisconsin
• "A Celebration with Maya Angelou, Guy Johnson, and Janice Mirikitani," 1996, "Don't Quit Your Day Job" Records

Other Web Sites About Maya Angelou

• Maya Angelou Home Page
• "Maya Angelou: A Western Canon, Jr."
  (Collection of articles and interviews on poetry, learning to love reading, children's reading list. From the Home Arts Network website.)
• The Been Found Page
  (Dr. Angelou co-wrote and performs spoken parts on the Ashford and Simpson CD, "Been Found." Sound and video clips as well as a slide show are available. From the Ashford and Simpson website.)
• Brave! -- A Poem for the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations
• Explorer: Maya Angelou
  (3 photographs. From Skidmore University's Liberal Arts program.)
• "On the Pulse of the Morning" Audio Clip
  (Dr, Angelou reading her poem at the 1993 presidential unauguration. From the University of North Carolina.)
• Teacher's Resources
  (Links to electronic texts of Dr. Angelou's work, lesson plans, scholarly essays.)
• Women's Web Feature Article