"in scripture. Hagen goes on to say that in addition to being influenced by rich literary form, Angelou has also been influenced by oral traditions. In ""Caged Bird"", Mrs. Flowers encourages her to listen carefully to ""Mother Wit"", which Hagen defines as the collective wisdom of the African-American community as expressed in folklore and humor. Angelou's humor in ""Caged Bird"" and in all her autobiographies is drawn from Black folklore and is used to demonstrate that in spite of severe racism and oppression, Black people thrive and are, as Hagen states, ""a community of song and laughter and courage"". Hagen"
"Maya Angelou Maya Angelou (; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American poet, singer, memoirist, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees. Angelou is best known for her series of seven autobiographies, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, ""I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"" (1969), tells of her life up to"
"leaders, including President Bill Clinton, and President Barack Obama, whose sister was named after Angelou. Harold Augenbraum, from the National Book Foundation, said that Angelou's ""legacy is one that all writers and readers across the world can admire and aspire to."" The week after Angelou's death, ""I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"" rose to number 1 on Amazon.com's bestseller list. On May 29, 2014, Mount Zion Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, of which Angelou was a member for 30 years, held a public memorial service to honor her. On June 7, a private memorial service was held at Wait Chapel"
"Robert Hayden Robert Hayden (4 August 1913 – 25 February 1980) was an American poet, essayist, and educator. He served as Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1976 to 1978, a role today known as US Poet Laureate. He was the first African-American writer to hold the office. Robert Hayden was born Asa Bundy Sheffey in Detroit, Michigan, to Ruth and Asa Sheffey, who separated before his birth. He was taken in by a foster family next door, Sue Ellen Westerfield and William Hayden, and grew up in a Detroit ghetto nicknamed ""Paradise Valley"". The Haydens' perpetually"
"Angelou's installments of her life story continue the long tradition of African-American autobiography. Starting with ""I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"", Angelou made a deliberate attempt while writing her books to challenge the usual structure of the autobiography by critiquing, changing, and expanding the genre. Her use of fiction-writing techniques such as dialogue, characterization, and thematic development has often led reviewers to categorize her books as autobiographical fiction. Angelou expressed in a 1989 interview her opinion that she was the only ""serious"" writer to choose the genre to express herself. Angelou reports not one person's story, but the collective's."
"the presentation of the 2013 National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal. Joan Walsh Anglund Joan Walsh Anglund (born c. 1926) is an American poet and children's book author. As of 2014, she had sold over 45 million books worldwide. In 2015 a United States Postal Service stamp was issued commemorating the American author and poet Maya Angelou with the Joan Walsh Anglund quote ""A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song"" though the stamp apparently attributes the quote to Angelou. The quote is from Anglund's book of poems ""A Cup"
"testimony when speaking of one's life and struggles, ironic understatement, and the use of natural metaphors, rhythms, and intonations. Angelou, instead of depending upon plot, used personal and historical events to shape her books. Maya Angelou Maya Angelou (; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American poet, singer, memoirist, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees. Angelou"
"Ntozake Shange Ntozake Shange ( ; October 18, 1948 – October 27, 2018) was an American playwright and poet. As a Black feminist, she addressed issues relating to race and Black power in much of her work. She is best known for her Obie Award-winning play, ""For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf"". She also penned novels including ""Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo"" (1982), ""Liliane"" (1994), and ""Betsey Brown"" (1985), about an African-American girl runaway from home. Among Shange's honors and awards were fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and Lila Wallace Reader's Digest Fund, and"
"authors. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, what has come to be known as the ""fab five"" were published: ""I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"" (1969), an autobiography of the early years of American poet Maya Angelou; ""The Friends"" (1973) by Rosa Guy; the semi-autobiographical ""The Bell Jar"" (US 1963, under a pseudonym; UK 1967) by poet Sylvia Plath; ""Bless the Beasts and Children"" (1970) by Glendon Swarthout; and ""Deathwatch"" (1972) by Robb White, which was awarded 1973 Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery by the Mystery Writers of America. The works of Angelou, Guy, and Plath were"
"Erica Kennedy Erica Kennedy (March 24, 1970 – c. June 13, 2012) was an American author, blogger, news correspondent, fashion journalist, and singer. Her 2004 novel ""Bling"", became a ""New York Times"" bestseller. In 2010, she was named to the list of 100 most influential African Americans, as published by ""Ebony"" magazine and known as the ""Ebony Power 100"". Erica Kennedy Johnson was born on March 24, 1970. Her father died when she was 17 years old. Her mother, Mary Mobley Johnson, was an interior designer. She was raised in Bayside, Queens, with her brother, Kirk Johnson. Kennedy attended Sarah"
"Roi Kwabena Dr. Roi Ankhkara Kwabena (born: Fitzroy Cook Jr. 23 July 1956 – 9 January 2008) was a Trinidadian cultural anthropologist, who worked with all age ranges in Europe, Africa, Latin-America and the Caribbean for over 30 years. He died in England, where he had relocated. Kwabena was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, where he was educated. At the age of 14, he published his first poem, ""Why Black Power"", which he also performed at a Black Power rally. His first collection, ""Lament of the Soul"", appeared three years later, and marked the beginning of a prolific body"
"Joan Walsh Anglund Joan Walsh Anglund (born c. 1926) is an American poet and children's book author. As of 2014, she had sold over 45 million books worldwide. In 2015 a United States Postal Service stamp was issued commemorating the American author and poet Maya Angelou with the Joan Walsh Anglund quote ""A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song"" though the stamp apparently attributes the quote to Angelou. The quote is from Anglund's book of poems ""A Cup of Sun"" (1967). President Obama also wrongly attributed the sentence to Angelou during"
"picture, ""Down in the Delta"", in 1998. When ""I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"" was published in 1969, Angelou was hailed as a new kind of memoirist, one of the first African-American women who were able to publicly discuss their personal lives. According to scholar Hilton Als, up to that point, black female writers were marginalized to the point that they were unable to present themselves as central characters in the literature they wrote. Linguist John McWhorter agreed, seeing Angelou's works, which he called ""tracts"", as ""apologetic writing"". He placed Angelou in the tradition of African-American literature as a"
"The poem was set to music in 1905 by Johnson's brother John. In 1919, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) dubbed it ""The Negro National Anthem"" for its power in voicing a cry for liberation and affirmation for African-American people. In 1939, Augusta Savage received a commission from the New York World's Fair and created a 16-foot (5 m) plaster sculpture called ""Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing"" which was destroyed by bulldozers at the close of the fair. In Maya Angelou's 1969 autobiography, ""I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"", the song is sung by the"
"81. J. Saunders Redding J. Saunders Redding was an African American author and educator. Born October 13, 1906 in Wilmington, Delaware, Redding wrote such books as ""To Make a Poet Black"" (1939), an autobiography, ""No Day of Triumph"" (1944), ""Stranger and Alone"" (1950), ""They Came in Chains"" (1950), ""An American in India"" (1954), and ""Cavalcade"" (1970), an African American literature anthology he edited with A. P. Davis. In 1970, Redding became the first African American professor at Cornell University's College of Arts and Sciences and then retired in 1975. Redding died on March 5, 1988 in Ithaca, New York at"
"Mbulelo Mzamane Mbulelo Vizikhungo Mzamane (28 July 1948 – 16 February 2014) was a South African author, poet, and academic. He was described by the late President Nelson Mandela as a “visionary leader and one of South Africa’s greatest intellectuals”. Mbulelo was born in Port Elizabeth, and grew up first in Soweto and then in the Brakpan-Springs area. His mother Flamma Cingashe Nkonyeni was a nurse and his father Canon Joshua Bernard Mbizo Mzamane was an Anglican priest; both were community leaders. His early schooling was in Soweto, and he later attended high school at St. Christopher's in Swaziland, where"
"Tatamkhulu Afrika Ismail Joubert (7 December 1920 – 23 December 2002), commonly known as Tatamkhulu Afrika, which is Xhosa for ""Grandfather Africa"", was a South African poet and writer. His first novel, ""Broken Earth"" was published when he was seventeen (under his ""Methodist name""), but it was over fifty years until his next publication, a collection of verse entitled ""Nine Lives"". He won numerous literary awards including the gold Molteno Award for lifetime services to South African literature, and in 1996 his works were translated into French. His autobiography, ""Mr Chameleon"", was published posthumously in 2005. Tatamkhulu Afrika was born"
"Jack Collom John Aldridge ""Jack"" Collom (November 8, 1931 – July 2, 2017) was an American poet, essayist, and creative writing pedagogue. Included among the twenty-five books he published during his lifetime were ""Red Car Goes By: Selected Poems 1955–2000""; ""Poetry Everywhere: Teaching Poetry Writing in School and in the Community""; and ""Second Nature"", which won the 2013 Colorado Book Award for Poetry. In the fields of education and pedagogy, he was involved in eco-literature, ecopoetics, and creative writing instruction for children. Jack Collom was born John Aldridge Collom in Chicago on November 8, 1931. He grew up in the"
"age of 92. Benjamin Arthur Quarles Benjamin Arthur Quarles (January 23, 1904 – November 16, 1996) was an African-American historian, administrator, scholar, educator, and writer. Major books by Quarles include ""The Negro in the Civil War"" (1953), ""The Negro in the American Revolution"" (1961), ""Lincoln and the Negro"" (1962), and ""Black Abolitionists"" (1969). He demonstrated that blacks were active participants in major conflicts and issues of American history. His books were narrative accounts of critical wartime periods that focused on how blacks interacted with their white allies and emphasized blacks' acting as vital agents of change rather than receiving favors"
"woman writer had expanded her life story into a third autobiography. She also published two volumes of poetry entitled ""Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie"" (1971), which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, and ""Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well"" (1975). According to writer Hilton Als, Angelou was one of the first African-American female writers to publicly discuss her personal life, and one of the first to use herself as a central character in her books. Writer Julian Mayfield, who calls ""I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"" ""a work of art"
"first volume won ""The Age Book of the Year"" 1997 and the 1998 Nita Kibble Literary Award for women writers. Sykes died in Sydney in November 2010. Bobbi Sykes Roberta ""Bobbi"" Sykes (16 August 194314 November 2010) was an Australian poet and author. She was a lifelong campaigner for indigenous land rights, as well as human rights and women's rights. Born Roberta Barkley Patterson in Townsville, Queensland, Sykes was raised by her mother and purportedly never knew her father. Sykes says in her autobiography that his identity is unknown, and her mother told her a number of different accounts about"
"Joyce Carol Thomas Joyce Carol Thomas (May 25, 1938 – August 13, 2016) was an African-American poet, playwright, motivational speaker, and author of more than 30 children's books. Thomas was born in Ponca City, Oklahoma, the fifth of nine children in a family of cotton pickers. In 1948 they moved to Tracy, California, to pick vegetables. She learned Spanish from Mexican migrant workers and earned a B.A. in Spanish from San Jose State University. She took night classes in education at Stanford University, while raising four children, and received the master's degree in 1967. For her 1982 novel ""Marked by"
"murder suspect. Unless noted, Rudolph Fisher's bibliography is drawn from ""African American Authors, 1745–1945: Bio-bibliographical Critical Sourcebook"", edited by Emmanuel Sampath Nelson. Fisher died in 1934 at the age of 37 from abdominal cancer likely caused by his own x-ray experimentation. He was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York City. The rhythm persisted, the unfaltering common meter of blues, but the blueness itself, the sorrow, the despair, began to give way to hope. Rudolph Fisher Rudolph John Chauncey Fisher (May 9, 1897 – December 26, 1934) was an African-American physician, radiologist, novelist, short story writer, dramatist, musician,"
"a spokesperson for Blacks and women. She was, as scholar Joanne Braxton stated, ""without a doubt ... America's most visible black woman autobiographer"". She had also become, as reviewer Richard Long stated, ""a major autobiographical voice of the time"". Angelou was one of the first African-American female writers to publicly discuss her personal life, and one of the first to use herself as a central character in her books. Writer Julian Mayfield, who called her first autobiography ""I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"" ""a work of art that eludes description"", stated that Angelou's series set a precedent not only"
"Chalmers Archer Chalmers Archer (April 21, 1928 – February 24, 2014) was an African-American author and professor. He wrote a memoir about his early experiences in the segregated South, ""Growing Up Black in Rural Mississippi"", and his experiences as a medic in the Special Forces (United States Army) inspired his book ""Green Berets in the Vanguard"". He received the Afro-Achievement Award in 1994 for distinguished lifetime achievement in education. Archer was born in Tchula, Mississippi, one of the six children of Eva Rutherford Archer and Chalmers Archer, Sr. His mother was a teacher and librarian and his father was a"
"Bettiola Heloise Fortson Bettiola Heloise Fortson (December 29, 1890 – April 13, 1917) was an African-American poet, essayist, activist and suffragist. Fortson was one of the first African-American people in the Midwestern United States to write and publish a book. Bettiola Heloise Fortson was born December 29, 1890 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky to Mattie Arnold and James Fortson. At age 12, she moved to Chicago to live with her aunt but she would periodically move to Evansville, Indiana to live with her mother when her aunt was traveling. She graduated in 1910 from Clark Street High School in Evansville, Indiana and"
"club performer; the first in 1957 for Liberty Records and the second, ""The Poetry of Maya Angelou"", for GWP Records the year before the publication of ""Caged Bird"". They were later incorporated into her volumes of poetry. Despite considering herself a playwright and poet when her editor Robert Loomis challenged her to write ""Caged Bird""—which brought her international recognition and acclaim—she has been best known for her seven autobiographies. Through the writing of her autobiography, Angelou became one of the first African American women who was able to publicly discuss her personal life and was recognized and highly respected as"
"Wendell Berry Wendell Erdman Berry (born August 5, 1934) is an American novelist, poet, environmental activist, cultural critic, and farmer. He is an elected member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers, a recipient of The National Humanities Medal, and the Jefferson Lecturer for 2012. He is also a 2013 Fellow of The American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Berry was named the recipient of the 2013 Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award. On January 28, 2015, he became the first living writer to be inducted into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame. Berry was the first of four children born"
"including his autobiography, two novels, four short novels, two plays and poetry. Tatamkhulu Afrika Ismail Joubert (7 December 1920 – 23 December 2002), commonly known as Tatamkhulu Afrika, which is Xhosa for ""Grandfather Africa"", was a South African poet and writer. His first novel, ""Broken Earth"" was published when he was seventeen (under his ""Methodist name""), but it was over fifty years until his next publication, a collection of verse entitled ""Nine Lives"". He won numerous literary awards including the gold Molteno Award for lifetime services to South African literature, and in 1996 his works were translated into French. His"
"Etheridge Knight Etheridge Knight (April 19, 1931 – March 10, 1991) was an African-American poet who made his name in 1968 with his debut volume, ""Poems from Prison"". The book recalls in verse his eight-year-long sentence after his arrest for robbery in 1960. By the time he left prison, Knight had prepared a second volume featuring his own writings and works of his fellow inmates. This second book, first published in Italy under the title ""Voce negre dal carcere,"" appeared in English in 1970 as ""Black Voices from Prison"". These works established Knight as one of the major poets of"
"Giovanni is a renowned public speaker, and her voice is still active and relevant even today. Sources: Nikki Giovanni Yolande Cornelia ""Nikki"" Giovanni, Jr. (born June 7, 1943) is an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. One of the world's most well-known African-American poets, her work includes poetry anthologies, poetry recordings, and nonfiction essays, and covers topics ranging from race and social issues to children's literature. She has won numerous awards, including the Langston Hughes Medal and the NAACP Image Award. She has been nominated for a Grammy Award for her poetry album, ""The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection"". Additionally,"
"was set up to investigate John, but they took no action and Nokutela felt humiliated. The couple separated in about 1914, and Nokutela moved to the Transvaal until she became ill with kidney disease. She returned to live with John Dube in Johannesburg, and died in 1917 at the age of 44. Her funeral was attended by Pixley ka Isaka Seme and other prominent members of what was to become the African National Congress. John Langalibalele Dube John Langalibalele Dube (11 February 1871 – 11 February 1946) was a South African essayist, philosopher, educator, politician, publisher, editor, novelist and poet."
"Robert Loomis Robert Loomis (born 1926) is a book editor; he worked at Random House from 1957 to 2011. He has been called ""one of publishing's hall of fame editors."" Many of Loomis' authors had worked with him for decades, including Maya Angelou, who wrote 31 books under his editorship, beginning her first autobiography, ""I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"" (1969). His authors' loyalty to him and him to them was almost legendary. Loomis represented ""the classic mold of the editor"" and according to Random House, he ""embodied the ideal of an old-fashioned editor: understated, but uncanny; polite, but"