The Life of the Author: Maya Angelou

by Wagner-Martin, Linda

• ISBN13: 9781119629108
• ISBN10: 1119629101
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2021-05-03
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

THE LIFE OF THE AUTHOR MAYA ANGELOU

DISCOVER THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF MAYA ANGELOU WITH A HIGHLY PERSONAL AND DETAILED ACCOUNT OF HER CHALLENGES AND TRIUMPHS

The Life of the Author: Maya Angelou delivers an engaging and thorough retelling of the life and work of the celebrated and accomplished writer, director, and essayist. The book offers readers an engrossing retelling of Maya Angelou’s entire life, from her time as a child in the segregated town of Stamps, Arkansas, to her death in 2014 in Winston-Salem.

Written with an emphasis on accessibility, the author avoids critical theory and focuses on Maya Angelou’s growth as a person and writer as well as the ways in which her life influenced her work. This new biography tells the story of a young black woman who overcomes poverty and endemic structural and personal obstacles to lead an accomplished life.

Readers will also enjoy:

A thorough retelling of the time Maya Angelou spent in Africa and how it shaped her views and work

An exploration of the screenplays written by Maya Angelou

Discussions of Maya Angelou’s early life as a dancer, singer, and writer

Accounts of Maya Angelou’s writing and production of television shows

A fulsome treatment of Maya Angelou’s work, including her poems, autobiographies, films, music, and theatre

Perfect for undergraduate students in Contemporary Literature courses as well as general readers who love Maya Angelou and her work, The Life of the Author: Maya Angelou will also earn a place in the libraries of biography and literature enthusiasts who seek to improve their understanding of the life and story of Maya Angelou with a highly personal and accessible new book.

Author Biography

Linda Wagner-Martin is Frank Borden Hanes Professor of English and Comparative Literature emerita at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in the United States. She has published over 75 books, including Hemingway’s Wars: The Public and Private Battles and The Routledge Introduction to American Modernism. 

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

List of Illustrations viii

1 “There is Always an Engine, Maya” 1

2 St. Louis and Fear 13

3 Recovery in Arkansas 23

4 More Changes 35

5 Mothering 44

6 Performing 57

7 Writing 69

8 In Africa 83

9 Real-life Politics 94

10 Angelou as Autobiographer 104

11 “‘Testing the Ledge’: Screenplays and Directing” 116

12 Mrs. Paul Du Feu 128

13 Returning to the South 139

14 “On the Pulse of Morning” 149

15 The Prestige Years 161

16 The Last Years 168

Afterword 175

Notes for Maya Angelou, a Life 176

Bibliography 189

Index (Angelou) 195