Research Guides: Maya Angelou: Biography

Maya Angelou (April 4, 1928 - May 28, 2014)

Angelou was the recipient of more than four dozen honorary degrees and numerous literary awards, among them the North Carolina Award in Literature and a lifetime appointment as the Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Other honors include an appointment by Present Jimmy Carter to the commission of the International Women’s Year; her recognition by Ladies’ Home Journal as Woman of the Year in communications in 1975; and her reception, in 1983, of the Matrix Award in the field of books from the Women in Communications. Continue . . .

Source: Smelstor, Marjorie, and Mary Hanford Bruce. “Maya Angelou.” Critical Survey of American Literature, Dec. 2016, pp. 97–105. From Literary Reference Center Plus database.

Book Collection

The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou

eBook Collection

Resources

Maya Angelou: Poet and Historian The American Academy of Achievement presents Maya Angelou's life and achievements.
Growing Up Maya Angelou The famed writer discusses her childhood, her writing and the importance of family.
Phenomenal Woman poem
Still I Rise poem

From Films On Demand database:

Maya Angelou: Legacy of Love Angelou shares the story of her Uncle Willy, who influenced her love of learning. The story of Uncle Willy is immortalized in a song sung by Roberta Flack.
Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise This film celebrates Dr. Maya Angelou by weaving her words with rare and intimate archival photographs and videos, which paint hidden moments of her exuberant life during some of America's most defining moments. From her upbringing in the Depression-era South to her work with Malcolm X to her inaugural speech for President Bill Clinton, the film takes us on an incredible journey through the life of a true American icon. Distributed by PBS Distribution.
Maya Angelou: poet, writer, and civil rights activist Bill Moyers goes home to Stamps, Arkansas with poet, writer, and civil rights activist Maya Angelou.
A Community Remembers Angelou Maya Angelou offers encouragement to a woman who is leaving Stamps. She receives a scrap book from her childhood that was saved when the general store where she lived as a child was demolished.
Maya Angelou: Inauguration Reading At President Clinton's second inauguration, Maya Angelou delivers her poem called "On the Pulse of Morning." Her rich, melodious voice gives a magical quality to the reading.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Angelou strolls a neighborhood with her childhood friend Louise, about whom she wrote, "Louise was a lonely girl." Louise has no real idea of Angelou's career and fame.