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 Editor: Steven G. Kellman ISBN: 1-58765-285-4 List price: $499     |
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Magill's Survey of American Literature offers profiles of major U.S. and Canadian writers accompanied by analyses of their significant works in fiction, drama, poetry, and nonfiction. Below is an excerpt from the Survey's essay on Maya Angelou.Maya Angelou Inspired by King and other civil rights leaders, she decided to move to Africa, ostensibly so that her son could be educated in Ghana. While living there, she served as assistant administrator of the University of Ghana's School of Music and Drama and also worked for the Ghanaian Broadcasting Corporation and as a freelance writer for the Ghanaian Times. In subsequent years, Angelou performed in various theater productions, adapted plays for the stage, and contributed to the performing arts in multiple ways. She performed in Jean Genet's The Blacks in 1960 (joining a cast of stars that included James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson) and adapted Sophocles' Ajax for its 1974 premiere performance at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. She also wrote the screenplays Georgia, Georgia (1972) and All Day Long (1974). Her television appearances include playing the role of Kunta Kinte's grandmother in 1977's Roots, serving as a guest interviewer on Assignment America, and appearing in a special series on creativity hosted by Bill Moyers. Her most important contributions, however, are her writings. In 1970, she began a series of autobiographies with her book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which was followed by subsequent autobiographies and several volumes of poetry. In 1993, she became only the second poet to read at a presidential inauguration when she read her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at President Bill Clinton's inauguration ceremony. Since then, she has written more poems and books, including children's books, a cookbook, and Elder Grace: The Nobility of Aging (2005). She has appeared in numerous television programs. Currently, she is a coveted speaker and gives numerous interviews in which she promotes her activism. - Marjorie Smelstor; updated by Mary Hanford Bruce |
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