List of Maya Angelou works

The works of Maya Angelou encompass autobiography, plays, poetry, and teleplays. She also had an active directing, acting, and speaking career. She is best known for her books, including her series of seven autobiographies, starting with the critically acclaimed I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969).

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^[1]

Angelou's autobiographies are distinct in style and narration, and "stretch over time and place",^[2] 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.^[2] Angelou wrote 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".^[3] Angelou used the same editor throughout her writing career, Robert Loomis, an executive editor at Random House, until he retired in 2011.^[4] Angelou said regarding Loomis: "We have a relationship that's kind of famous among publishers."^[5]

She was one of the most honored writers of her generation, earning an extended list of honors and awards, as well as more than 30 honorary degrees.^[6] She was 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,^[7] and she was chosen by President Bill Clinton to recite her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" during his inauguration in 1993.^[8]

Angelou's successful acting career included roles in numerous plays, films, and television programs, such as 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.^[9][10] and she was the first African-American woman to direct a major motion picture, Down in the Delta, in 1998.^[11] Since the 1990s, Angelou participated in the lecture circuit,^[8] which she continued into her eighties.^[12][13]

Literature

Unless otherwise stated, the items in this list are from Gillespie et al, pp. 186–191.

Autobiographies

• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969). New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-375-50789-2
• Gather Together in My Name (1974). New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-394-48692-5
• Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas (1976). New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-679-45777-0
• The Heart of a Woman (1981). New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-8129-8032-5
• All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes (1986). New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-679-73404-8
• A Song Flung Up to Heaven (2002). New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-375-50747-2
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou' (2004). New York: Modern Library. ISBN 978-0-679-64325-8^[14][15]
• Mom & Me & Mom (2013). New York: Random House. ISBN 978-1-4000-6611-7

Poetry

• Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie (1971). New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-394-47142-6^[16]
• Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well (1975). New York: Random House. ISBN 0-679-45707-0
• And Still I Rise (1978). New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-394-50252-6^[17]
• Shaker, Why Don't You Sing? (1983). New York: Random House. ISBN 0-394-52144-7^[18][19]
• Poems (1986). New York: Random House. ISBN 0-553-25576-2
• Now Sheba Sings the Song (1987). New York: Plume Books. ISBN 0-452-27143-6
• I Shall Not Be Moved (1990). New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-35458-2
• "On the Pulse of Morning" (1993). New York: Random House. ISBN 0-679-74838-5^[20]
• The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou (1994). New York: Random House. ISBN 0-679-42895-X
• Phenomenal Woman: Four Poems Celebrating Women (1995). New York: Random House. ISBN 0-679-43924-2
• A Brave and Startling Truth (1995). New York: Random House. ISBN 0-679-44904-3^[21]
• "From a Black Woman to a Black Man", 1995
• "Amazing Peace" (2005). New York: Random House. ISBN 1-4000-6558-5^[19]
• "Mother: A Cradle to Hold Me" (2006). New York: Random House. ISBN 1-4000-6601-8
• "Celebrations, Rituals of Peace and Prayer" (2006). New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-307-77792-8
• Poetry for Young People (2007). Berkshire, U.K.: Sterling Books. ISBN 1-4027-2023-8
• "We Had Him", 2009^[22]
• "His Day is Done", 2013^[23]

Personal essays

• Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now (1993). New York: Random House. ISBN 0-553-56907-4
• Even the Stars Look Lonesome (1997). New York: Random House. ISBN 0-375-50031-6
• Letter to My Daughter (2008). New York: Random House. ISBN 1-4000-6612-3

Cookbooks

• Hallelujah! The Welcome Table: A Lifetime of Memories with Recipes (2004). New York: Random House. ISBN 1-4000-6289-6
• Great Food, All Day Long: Cook Splendidly, Eat Smart (2010). New York: Random House. ISBN 1-4000-6844-4≠←

Children's books

• Life Doesn't Frighten Me (1998). New York: Stewart, Tabori, and Chang. ISBN 1-55670-288-4
• My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken and Me (1994). New York: Knopf Books. ISBN 0-517-59667-9
• Kofi and His Magic (1996). New York: Knopf Books. ISBN 0-517-59667-9
• Maya's World series (2004). New York: Random House:

• Izak of Lapland, ISBN 0-375-92833-2
• Angelina of Italy, ISBN 0-375-82832-X
• Renée Marie of France ISBN 0-375-82834-6
• Mikale of Hawaii ISBN 0-375-92835-9

Plays

• Cabaret for Freedom (musical revue), with Godfrey Cambridge, 1960
• The Least of These, 1966
• The Best of These (drama), 1966
• Gettin' up Stayed on My Mind, 1967
• Sophocles, Ajax (adaptation), 1974
• And Still I Rise (writer/director), 1976
• Moon on a Rainbow Shawl (director), 1978^[24]

Film and television

• Blacks, Blues, Black! (writer, producer and host – ten one-hour programs, National Education Television), 1968
• Georgia, Georgia (writer for script and musical score), Sweden, 1972
• All Day Long (writer/director), 1974
• PBS documentaries (1975):

• 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

• Assignment America (six one-half hour programs), 1975
• Part One: The Legacy; Part Two: The Inheritors (writer and host), 1976
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (writer for script and musical score), 1979
• Sister, Sister (writer), 20th Century Fox Television, 1982
• Brewster Place (writer), ABC, 1990
• Down in the Delta (director), Miramax Films, 1998
• The Black Candle (poetry, narration), Starz, 2012

Plays and films acted in (partial list)

• Porgy and Bess, 1954–1955
• Calypso, 1957
• The Blacks, 1960
• Mother Courage, 1964
• Look Away, 1973
• Roots, ABC, 1977
• Runaway, Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions, 1993
• Poetic Justice, 1993
• Touched by an Angel ("Reunion"), CBS, 1995
• How to Make an American Quilt, Universal Pictures, 1995
• Madea's Family Reunion, Tyler Perry Studios, 2006

Recordings

• Miss Calypso, Scamp Records, 1957
• For the Love of Ivy, ABC Records, 1968
• "And So It Goes" (co-written with Roberta Flack for Flack's album Oasis, 1988^[25]
• Been Found (collaborated on 7 tracks with Ashford & Simpson), 1996^[25]
• "Music, Deep Rivers in My Soul" (with Wynton Marsalis), 2007^[25]

Spoken-Word albums

• The Poetry of Maya Angelou, GWP Records, 1969
• Women in Business, 1981
• On the Pulse of Morning, Random House Audio, 1993^[26]
• A Song Flung Up to Heaven, Random House Audio, 2002^[26]

Radio

• Talk show host, Oprah and Friends, XM Satellite Radio, launched 2006^[27]

References

1. McPherson, Dolly A. (1990). Order Out of Chaos: The Autobiographical Works of Maya Angelou. New York: Peter Lang Publishing. pp. 10–11. ISBN 0-8204-1139-6.
2. Lupton, Mary Jane (1998). Maya Angelou: A Critical Companion. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 1. ISBN 0-313-30325-8.
3. Als, Hilton (2002-08-05). "Songbird: Maya Angelou takes another look at herself". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2012-01-01.
4. Italie, Hillel (2011-05-06). "Robert Loomis, editor of Styron, Angelou, retires". The Washington Times (Associated Press). Retrieved 2012-01-01.
5. 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 0-19-511606-2.
6. Moore, Lucinda (2003-04-01). "A Conversation with Maya Angelou at 75". Smithsonian. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
7. Gillespie et al, p. 103
8. Manegold, Catherine S. (1993-01-20). "An Afternoon with Maya Angelou; A Wordsmith at Her Inaugural Anvil". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
9. Brown, Avonie (1997-01-04). "Maya Angelou: The Phenomenal Woman Rises Again". New York Amsterdam News 88 (1). p. 2.
10. "Maya Angelou: A Brief Biography". African Overseas Union. Retrieved 2007-10-07.
11. Gillespie et al, p. 144
12. Younge, Gary (2002-05-25). "No surrender". The Guardian (Guardian Media Group). Retrieved 2012-01-01.
13. Gillespie et al, p. 9
14. Maya Angelou (2010). I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Random House Publishing Group. ISBN 030747772X. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
15. Maya Angelou (2012). The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou (illustrated ed.). Random House Publishing Group. p. 175. ISBN 030743205X. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
16. Moyer, Homer E. (2003). The R.A.T. Real-World Aptitude Test: Preparing Yourself for Leaving Home. Sterling, Virginia: Capital Books. p. 297. ISBN 1-931868-42-5.
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. Waldron, Clarence (2006-12-25). "Maya Angelou: On Christmas, Dave Chappelle and What Inspires Her". Jet (110). p. 29. Retrieved 2011-10-04.
20. Angelou, Maya. "On the Pulse of Morning". Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library. 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. Retrieved 2009-07-11.
23. Eby, Margaret (12 December 2013). "Maya Angelou pens poem for Nelson Mandela: 'His Day is Done'". New York Daily News. Retrieved 16 February 2014
24. Wolf, Matt (March 12, 2014). "The National Theatre's Global Flair". The New York Times. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
25. Letkemann, Jessica (28 May 2014). "Maya Angelou's Life in Music: Ashford & Simpson Collab, Calypso Album & More". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
26. Maughan, Shannon (2003-03-03). "Grammy Gold". Publishers Weekly 250 (9). p. 38.
27. Waggoner, Martha (2006-09-13). "Maya Angelou to Host Show on XM Radio". Fox News. Retrieved 2007-09-28.

Works cited

• Gillespie, Marcia Ann, Rosa Johnson Butler, and Richard A. Long. (2008). Maya Angelou: A Glorious Celebration. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-385-51108-7