Works of Maya Angelou

The works of Maya Angelou encompass autobiography, poetry, plays, screenplays for television and film, directing, acting, and speaking. 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 a National Book Award.cite web | last = Moore | first = Lucinda | title = A Conversation with Maya Angelou at 75 | publisher = Smithsonian.com | date = 2003-04-01 | url = http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/angelou.html?page=1 | accessdate = 2007-10-02] 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". [ cite web | url = http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=180 | title = Maya Angelou | publisher = Poetry Foundation | accessdate = 2007-10-25]

Angelou is also 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, [cite book | last = Moyer | first = Homer E. | title = The R.A.T. real-world aptitude test: Preparing yourself for leaving home | publisher = Capital Books | date = 2003 | location = Sterling, VA | pages = 297 | isbn = 1-931868-42-5] and she was chosen by President Bill Clinton to recite her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" during his inauguration in 1993, the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at John F. Kennedy's inauguration in 1961.cite news | last = Manegold | first = Catherine S. | title = An afternoon with Maya Angelou; A wordsmith at her inaugural anvil | work = New York Times | date = 1993-01-20 | url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE5D81E30F933A15752C0A965958260&n=Top%2FReference%2FTimes%20Topics%2FPeople%2FA%2FAngelou%2C%20Maya | accessdate = 2007-10-02] In 2007, she became the first African-American woman and living poet to be featured in the "Poetry for Young People" series of books from Sterling Publishing. [cite news | title = Maya Angelou still rises | publisher = CBS News | date = 2007-10-22 | url = http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/22/earlyshow/leisure/books/main3391490.shtml | accessdate = 2007-10-22]

Angelou has had a successful career as a playwright and actress. In 1977, she appeared in a supporting role in the television mini-series "Roots". Her screenplay, "Georgia, Georgia" (1972), was the first original script by a black woman to be produced. [cite web | title = Maya Angelou: A brief biography | publisher = African Overseas Union | url = http://www.houstonprogressive.org/africanoverseasunion/mayaangelou.html | accessdate = 2007-10-07] 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. Since the 1990s, Angelou has been a busy participant in the lecture circuit. In 1993, she made approximately eighty speaking appearances a year.

Literature

Autobiographies

* "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, 1969.
* "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.
* "A Song Flung Up To Heaven", 2002.
* "The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou", 2004.

Poetry

* "Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Diiie", 1971.
* "Oh Pray My Wings are Gonna Fit Me Well", 1975.
* "Still I Rise", 1978.
* "Shaker, Why Don't You Sing", 1983.
* "Now Sheba Sings the Song", 1987.
* "I Shall Not Be Moved", 1990.
* "Life doesn't frighten me", 1991
* "On the Pulse of Morning", 1993. [cite web | last = Angelou | first = Maya | title = On the Pulse of Morning | publisher = Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library | url = http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=AngPuls.sgm&
]
* "The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou", 1994.
* "Phenomenal Woman: Four Poems for Women", 1995.
* "A Brave and Startling Truth", 1995.
* "From a Black Woman to a Black Man", 1995.
* "Amazing Peace", 2005.
* "Mother, a Cradle to Hold Me", 2006.
* "Celebrations, Rituals of Peace and Prayer", 2006
* "Poetry for Young People", 2007.

Essays

* "Lessons in Living", 1993.
* "Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now", 1993.
* "Even the Stars Look Lonesome", 1997.
* "Hallelujah! The Welcome Table", 2004.
* "Mother: A Cradle to Hold Me", 2006.
* "Letter to My Daughter", 2008

Children's books

* "Mrs. Flowers: A Moment of Friendship" (selection from "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"), illustrated by Etienne Delessert, 1986.
* "Life Doesn't Frighten Me" (poem), edited by Sara Jane Boyers, illustrated by Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1993.
* "Soul Looks Back in Wonder" (with others), illustrated by Tom Feelings, 1993.
* "My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken and Me", photographs by Margaret Courtney-Clarke, 1994.
* "Kofi and His Magic", photographs by Margaret Courtney-Clarke, 1996.
* "Maya's World" series, illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell, 2004.

Plays

* "Cabaret for Freedom" (musical revue), with Godfrey Cambridge, produced at Village Gate Theatre, New York, 1960.
* "The Least of These" (two-act drama), produced in Los Angeles, 1966.
* "The Best of These" (drama), 1966.
* "The Clawing Within" (two-act drama), 1966.
* "Gettin' up Stayed on My Mind", 1967
* "Adjoa Amissah" (two-act musical), 1967
* "Sophocles, Ajax" (two-act drama), produced at Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles, 1974.
* "And Still I Rise" (one-act musical), produced in Oakland, Calif., 1976.
* "Theatrical Vignette" (one-act play), 1983.
* "King", (lyrics, with Alistair Beaton) book by Lonne Elder III, music by Richard Blackford, produced in London, 1990.

creenplays

Films

* "Georgia, Georgia", 1972.
* "All Day Long", 1974.
* "Poetic Justice" (author of poems), 1993.
* "The Black Candle" (author of poems), 2008.

Television

* "Black, Blues, Black" (series of ten one-hour PBS programs), 1968.
* "Assignment America" (series of six one-half-hour PBS programs), 1975.
* "The Legacy", 1976.
* "The Inheritors", 1976.
* "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", 1979.
* "Sister, Sister", 1982.
* "Trying to Make It Home", 1988
* "Maya Angelou's America: A Journey of the Heart" (also host), 1988.
* "Brewster Place", 1990-1991.
* "Angelou on Burns", 1996.

Directing

* "All Day Long", 1974.
* "Down in the Delta", 1998. [cite news | last = Kennedy | first = Dana | title = Holiday Films; A Poet, at 70, ventures into the unknown | work = The New York Times | date =1998-11-15 | url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9902E0D71E3EF936A25752C1A96E958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1 | accessdate = 2007-10-12]
* "And Still I Rise", 1976
* "Moon on a Rainbow Shawl", 1988.

Acting

Films and plays

* "Porgy and Bess", 1954-1955.
* "Calypso Heat Wave", 1957.
* "The Blacks", 1960.
* "Cabaret for Freedom" (also produced), 1960.
* "Mother Courage", 1964.
* "Medea in Hollywood", 1966.
* "Look Away", 1973.
* "Poetic Justice", 1993.
* "There Are No Children Here", 1993.
* "How to Make an American Quilt", 1995.
* "The Journey of the August King" (narrator), 1995
* "Elmo Saves Christmas" (narrator), 1996
* "The Amen Corner", 1999.
* "Madea's Family Reunion", 2006.
* "The Black Candle" (narrator), 2008.

Television appearances

* "Tapestry", 1975 (play).
* "Circles", 1975 (play).
* "Roots", 1977.
* "Sister, Sister", 1982.
* "Touched By An Angel", 1995.
* "Moesha", 1999.
* "Sesame Street", 1999. [cite web | title = Maya Angelou | publisher = Muppet Wiki | url = http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Maya_Angelou| accessdate = 2007-09-28]
* "Down in the Delta", 1999.
* "Runaway", 2000
* "That's So Raven", 2006

Radio

* Talk Host, "Oprah and Friends", XM Satellite Radio, launched 2006. [cite news | last = Waggoner | first = Martha | title = Maya Angelou to host show on XM Radio | publisher = Fox News | date = 2006-09-13 | url = http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2006Sep13/0,4670,PeopleAngelou,00.html | accessdate=2007-09-28]

Recordings

cores

* "Miss Calypso", 1957.
* "For the Love of Ivy", 1968.
* "Georgia, Georgia", 1972.
* "All Day Long", 1974.

poken word albums

* "The Poetry of Maya Angelou", 1969.
* "An Evening with Maya Angelou", 1975.
* "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" (with filmstrip and teacher's guide), 1978.
* "Women in Business", 1981.
* "Making Magic in the World", 1988.
* "On the Pulse of Morning", 1993.
* "Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now", 1993.
* "Phenomenal Woman", 1995.
* "Been Found", 1996.
* "Celebrations", 2007.

References