Maya Angelou (1928-2014)

A selective list of online literary criticism for African American poet and autobiographer Maya Angelou, favoring signed articles by recognized scholars and articles published in peer-reviewed sources


main page | 20th-century literature | African American literature | 20th-century women writers


introduction

"Maya Angelou Obituary." Guardian 28 May 2014.

"The Caged Bird Legacy." Continuing the work of Maya Angelou, a web site from the Angelou Johnson Family.

"Maya Angelou: my terrible, wonderful mother." Maya Angelou writes about her childhood and getting to know her mother. Guardian 30 March 2013.

"Growing Up Maya Angelou." In an interview on her 75th birthday, Maya Angelou talks about the people in her life who she loved and who helped her triumph over the adversities of her childhood. Smithsonian Magazine April 2003.

"Maya Angelou." An introduction to Maya Angelou, includes a biography and text for her poems "Alone" and "Still I Rise." Academy of American Poets.

"Maya Angelou." An encyclopedia-type article covers Maya Angelou's biography, her autobiographies, and her poetry. Also, a list of works and a recommended reading list, and the text of some of her most famous poems. Poetry Foundation.

"Maya Angelou." Maya Angelou is interviewed by George Plimpton in the Paris Review 116 (Fall 1990).


literary criticism

Koyana, Siphokazi; and Rosemary Gray. "Growing up with Maya Angelou and Sindiwe Magona: A Comparison." English in Africa 29, 1 (May 2002) pp 85-98 [free at jstor].

McMurry, Myra K. "Role-Playing as Art in Maya Angelou's 'Caged Bird.'" South Atlantic Bulletin 41, 2 (May 1976) pp 106-111 [free at jstor].

Stamant, Nicole M. "Maya Angelou's Memoirs in the 'Gastronomic Contact Zone': Seriality and Citizenship." a/b: Auto/Biography Studies 27, 1 (Summer 2012) pp 101-26 [muse, preview].

Walker, Pierre A. "Racial Protest, Identity, Words, and Form in Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." College Literature 22, 3 (Oct. 1995) pp 91-108 [free at jstor].


main page | 20th-century literature | African American literature | 20th-century women writers


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