On Dr Maya Angelou’s 95th birthday, we’ve curated an essential reading and listening guide to celebrate the life and work of the great African-American poet, civil rights activist and modern-day visionary
Maya Angelou. Pic Courtesy/Wikimedia Commons
Read
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: Maya Angelou is known for her seven autobiographies. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is her first and the most read of the series. This seminal book chronicles her life from the age of three till 16. Taking us through her disquieting childhood, including rape and racism, Angelou lets the readers in on the incidents that shaped her.
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Mom & Me & Mom
The last of her autobiographies, released a year before she passed away, Mom & Me & Mom reveals Angelou’s tricky relation with her mother for the first time. This book explores the change in Angelou’s character through the course of her life as a result of the decisions taken by her mother.
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Angelou (centre) at a meeting. Pic Courtesy/Youtube
Listen
Dr Maya Angelou on Oprah’s Super Soul: Referred to by Oprah Winfrey as her “mentor, mother/sister, and friend”, Angelou joins Oprah on her Emmy Award-winning daytime series, Super Soul. In the episode, Angelou had just turned 74 and is celebrating by talking to her confidante about her life and her then-released New York Times bestseller, A Song Flung Up To Heaven. Be prepared for a soulful and a hearty exchange as you listen to the two friends catch up.
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Making Maya Angelou on Brandon Pope’s Making: Host Brandon Pope, in this episode of his podcast, Making, talks about Angelou’s life at length. Among the guests are Dr Maxine Mimms, a long-time friend of Angelou and Randal Jakes, a professor of African American studies at the University of Kansas. Catch them talk about what it was about the American poet’s life that made the author such a phenomenal woman.
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Watch
Maya Angelou: 20th Century Renaissance Woman: This video by Black History in Two Minutes Or So is a quick glimpse into Angelou’s life. In addition to her contribution to the black community in America, all her milestones and hallmark events are recounted in this video.
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The Story about Maya Angelou that you never heard in her own words: A documentary on Angelou, this 42-minute video includes interviews, pictures and clips of Dr Angelou herself, and friends that supplement the narration of her life right from when she was a child. It talks about lesser-known facts about Angelou like the fact that the poet could also sing Calypso.
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