" Vous entendrez la femme royale, la fille de la rue espiègle ; vous entendrez le prix de la survie de la femme noire et vous entendrez sa générosité. " James BaldwinMaya Angelou est aujourd'hui unanimement célébrée pour ses romans autobiographiques, dont le célèbre Je sais pourquoi chante l'oiseau en cage. Activiste et écrivaine, militante des droits civiques, elle fut aussi une poète de talent, publiant avec succès des recueils tout au long de sa vie.Et pourtant je m'élève, son troisième volume, paru en 1978 aux États-Unis, la révèle dans sa pleine maturité poétique, mêlant, dans une langue puissante, nourrie de blues et de negro spirituals, des motifs intimes et des thèmes politiques. Car Maya Angelou ne s'exprime jamais en son seul nom, même lorsqu'elle raconte l'amour, l'espoir ou la douleur. À travers sa voix, c'est toute la force, la fierté et l'esprit indomptable de la communauté africaine-américaine qui s'expriment, mais aussi la détermination des femmes à s'élever malgré l'adversité.
" Vous entendrez la femme royale, la fille de la rue espiègle ; vous entendrez le prix de la survie de la femme noire et vous entendrez sa générosité. " James BaldwinTraduit de l'anglais (États-Unis) par Santiago Artozqui
"Le coup de téléphone est arrivé, et mon coeur a cogné contre mon sternum. J'avais le rôle. J'avais fait mon entrée dans le show-business. [] Ma seule hésitation, c'était Clyde. Maman et Lottie m'ont alors proposé de s'occuper de lui. [] J'ai accepté cette solution, en me disant que lorsque j'aurai "percé", et j'y comptais bien, je louerais un grand appartement à Manhattan et engagerais une gouvernante pour mon fils. Et pendant mes tournées à l'étranger, je l'emmènerais, avec la gouvernante et pourquoi pas un professeur particulier. Ma vie s'ordonnait aussi résolument que les marches d'un escalier de marbre, et je m'apprêtais à grimper jusqu'aux étoiles."
Dans ce troisième roman autobiographique, Marguerite Johnson, mère célibataire de vingt ans, devient Maya Angelou et fait son entrée dans le monde du spectacle.
Porté par une voix inimitable, ce récit à la fois drôle et léger, politique et profond, nous permet d'assister à la naissance dune icône. Et Maya Angelou nous livre avec tendresse, mais aussi beaucoup d'humour et de clairvoyance, un portrait émouvant de la jeune femme quelle était.
Maya Angelou fut poétesse, écrivaine, actrice, militante pour les droits civiques, danseuse, enseignante et réalisatrice. Née à la fin des années 1920 dans le Sud ségrégationniste, c'est une figure emblématique de la vie politique et artistique américaine. Icône de la lutte pour les droits des minorités, activiste féministe, elle a été proche de Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King et Malcolm X.
Silhouette imposante, port de tête altier, elle fait résonner la voix d'une femme noire, fière et volontaire, qui va devoir survivre dans un monde d'une extrême dureté, dominé par les Blancs. Une voix riche et drôle, passionnée et douce qui, malgré les discriminations, porte l'espoir et la joie, l'accomplissement et la reconnaissance, et défend farouchement son droit à la liberté.Après l'inoubliablement beau Je sais pourquoi chante l'oiseau en cage, Maya Angelou poursuit ici son cycle autobiographique. Maya Angelou fut poétesse, écrivaine, actrice, militante, enseignante et réalisatrice. Elle a mené de nombreux combats avant de devenir une icône contemporaine qui a inspiré la vie de millions de personnes. Elle a côtoyé Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X et James Baldwin. À sa mort, Michelle Obama, Rihanna, Oprah Winfrey, Emma Watson, J. K. Rowling et beaucoup d'autres encore lui ont rendu hommage. « L'un des plus grands esprits que notre monde ait jamais connus. (...) Ses mots m'ont soutenue à chaque étape de mon existence. »Michelle Obama« Maya Angelou, c'est un feu. Un feu d'invincible joie, qui anéantit l'adversité et embrase la combativité. Un feu qui éclaire, m'éclaire encore. »Christiane TaubiraMaya Angelou fut poète, écrivaine, actrice, enseignante et réalisatrice. En 2013, en tant que militante des droits civiques américains, elle a reçu le National Book Award pour « service exceptionnel rendu à la communauté littéraire américaine ». Elle est décédée le 28 mai 2014 à l'âge de 86 ans.
Dédié à celle qu'elle n'a jamais eue, Lettre à ma fille est une succession de courts textes décrivant les souvenirs qui ont façonné la vie exceptionnelle de Maya Angelou. Féministe avant l'heure, et après une enfance et une adolescence marquée par la violence, elle écrit avec le coeur de millions de femmes qu'elle considère comme ses soeurs de combat. La littérature la sauvera et l'amènera à être la première étudiante noire d'une école privée. Puis elle fréquentera le milieu intellectuel noir-américain et deviendra une grande militante de la condition des femmes noires. C'est grâce à l'écrivain James Baldwin qu'elle se mettra à écrire après la mort de Martin Luther King et deviendra l'auteure que l'on connaît aujourd'hui. Dans ce captivant récit, l'auteure nous fait partager ses combats et les épreuves qui ont forgé son caractère dans la compassion et le courage. Maya Angelou fut poète, écrivaine, actrice, enseignante et réalisatrice. En 2013, en tant que militante des droits civiques américains, elle a reçu le National Book Award pour « service exceptionnel rendu à la communauté littéraire américaine ». Elle est décédée le 28 mai 2014 à l'âge de 86 ans.
Figure emblématique de l'histoire des États-Unis, Maya Angelou s'est engagée corps et âme dans le xxe siècle américain. Tant que je serai noire débute en 1957 lorsque, décidée à devenir écrivain, elle part avec son fils, Guy, pour rejoindre Harlem, épicentre de l'activité intellectuelle des Noirs américains. Elle participe aux bouleversements de l'époque et rencontre des artistes comme Billie Holiday et James Baldwin, et les leaders du mouvement des droits civiques, Malcolm X et Martin Luther King. Enfin, conquise par Vusumzi Make, qui se bat pour la liberté des Noirs d'Afrique du Sud, elle part vivre en Afrique, théâtre des luttes anticolonialistes, où elle devient journaliste. Ce récit autobiographique dessine le portrait d'une femme exceptionnelle qui a intégré, jusqu'au coeur de sa vie intime, une véritable révolution mondiale, culturelle et politique.
En 1962, Maya Angelou, de passage à Accra avec son fils, tente l'expérience du « retour » en Afrique. À l'époque, le Ghana, dirigé par Kwame Nkrumah, lutte pour l'émancipation du continent noir et fait figure de « terre promise » aux yeux des Noirs américains en quête de leurs racines. L'expérience se révèle difficile pour bien des membres de la diaspora, incapables de communiquer avec les Ghanéens et blessés par l'indifférence ou la méfiance que ceux-ci leur témoignent. Maya, qui trouve un emploi et apprend le fanti, rencontre notamment Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali et W.E.B. Du Bois pendant son séjour. En 1964, plus combative que jamais, elle prendra un billet d'avion pour l'Amérique.Une oeuvre dont le propos sur les identités atteint l'universel et reste d'une actualité brûlante. Éric Paquin, Voir.
The international classic and bestseller, Maya Angelou's memoir paints a portrait of 'a brilliant writer, a fierce friend and a truly phenomenal woman' (BARACK OBAMA).
'I write about being a Black American woman, however, I am always talking about what it's like to be a human being. This is how we are, what makes us laugh, and this is how we fall and how we somehow, amazingly, stand up again' Maya Angelou
In this first volume of her seven books of autobiography, Maya Angelou beautifully evokes her childhood with her grandmother in the American south of the 1930s. Loving the world, she also knows its cruelty. As a Black woman she has known discrimination, violence and extreme poverty, but also hope, joy, achievement and celebration.
'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings liberates the reader into life simply because Maya Angelou confronts her own life with such a moving wonder, such a luminous dignity' JAMES BALDWIN
'She moved through the world with unshakeable calm, confidence and a fierce grace . . . She will always be the rainbow in my clouds' OPRAH WINFREY
'She was important in so many ways. She launched African American women writing in the United States. She was generous to a fault. She had nineteen talents - used ten. And was a real original. There is no duplicate' TONI MORRISON
A collection of wisdom and life lessons, from the beloved and bestselling author of I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS
'A brilliant writer, a fierce friend and a truly phenomenal woman' BARACK OBAMA
Dedicated to the daughter she never had but sees all around her, Letter to my Daughter reveals Maya Angelou's path to living well and living a life with meaning. Told in her own inimitable style, this book transcends genres and categories: it's part guidebook, part memoir, part poetry - and pure delight.
'She moved through the world with unshakeable calm, confidence and a fierce grace . . . She will always be the rainbow in my clouds' OPRAH WINFREY
'She was important in so many ways. She launched African American women writing in the United States. She was generous to a fault. She had nineteen talents - used ten. And was a real original. There is no duplicate' TONI MORRISON
The sequel to I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS
'A brilliant writer, a fierce friend and a truly phenomenal woman' BARACK OBAMA
Maya Angelou's seven volumes of autobiography are a testament to the talents and resilience of this extraordinary writer. Though fiercely loving the world, as a black woman, she also knows its cruelty. Angelou has known discrimination and extreme poverty, but also hope, joy, achievement and celebration.
In the sequel to her bestselling I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou is a young mother in California, unemployed, embarking on brief affairs and transient jobs in shops and nightclubs, turning to prostitution and the world of narcotics. Maya Angelou powerfully captures the struggles and triumphs of her passionate life with dignity, wisdom, humour and humanity.
'She moved through the world with unshakeable calm, confidence and a fierce grace . . . She will always be the rainbow in my clouds' OPRAH WINFREY
'She was important in so many ways. She launched African American women writing in the United States. She was generous to a fault. She had nineteen talents - used ten. And was a real original. There is no duplicate' TONI MORRISON
A memoir of politics and activism, from the bestselling and beloved author of I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS
'A brilliant writer, a fierce friend and a truly phenomenal woman' BARACK OBAMA
It is 1964 and Maya Angelou is on her way back home, leaving behind her beloved - and now seriously teenage - son Guy, to finish university in Ghana. America is pulsing with the challenge of change, the civil rights movement is in full swing and that's where Maya Angelou wants to be, working alongside her friends Malcolm X and Martin Luther King.
In this marvellous account, Maya Angelou provides, with her customary wisdom, compassion and wit, a first-hand record of an extraordinarily exciting and tragic political period. She writes of 'Jimmy' Baldwin, Eldridge Cleaver, and of friends and family, and finishes with the beginnings of her career as one of America's most impressive memoir writers.
'She moved through the world with unshakeable calm, confidence and a fierce grace . . . She will always be the rainbow in my clouds' OPRAH WINFREY
'She was important in so many ways. She launched African American women writing in the United States. She was generous to a fault. She had nineteen talents - used ten. And was a real original. There is no duplicate' TONI MORRISON
From her reflections on African American life and hardship in Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie to her revolutionary celebrations of womanhood in Phenomenal Woman and Still I Rise, and her elegant tributes to dignitaries Bill Clinton and Nelson Mandela (On the Pulse of Morning and His Day Is Done, respectively), every inspiring word of Maya Angelou's poetry is included in the pages of this volume.
A collection of poetry witnessing celebrations both private and public, from the author of I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS.
'A brilliant writer, a fierce friend and a truly phenomenal woman' BARACK OBAMA
Maya Angelou's poetry has stirred our souls, energized our minds and healed our hearts. Celebrations is a collection of timely and timeless poems: the inspiring 'On the Pulse of Morning', read at President William Jefferson Clinton's 1993 inauguration; the heartening 'Amazing Peace'; 'A Brave and Startling Truth', which marked the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations; and 'Mother', which beautifully honours the first woman in our lives.
'She moved through the world with unshakeable calm, confidence and a fierce grace . . . She will always be the rainbow in my clouds' OPRAH WINFREY
'She was important in so many ways. She launched African American women writing in the United States. She was generous to a fault. She had nineteen talents - used ten. And was a real original. There is no duplicate' TONI MORRISON
Lessons of a lifetime from the author of I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS
'A brilliant writer, a fierce friend and a truly phenomenal woman' BARACK OBAMA
With her customary courage and humour - and always with style and grace - Maya Angelou reflects on the people and places she has known. She talks about Africa and ageing, she gives us a profile of her great friend and 'daughter' Oprah Winfrey, she sings the praises of sensuality. But here too are her thoughts on the end of a much-wanted marriage, confessions of rage and the importance of solitude. EVEN THE STARS LOOK LONESOME is the work of a wonderful woman who is not afraid to admit to the mistakes and vulnerabilities that make us human.
'She moved through the world with unshakeable calm, confidence and a fierce grace . . . She will always be the rainbow in my clouds' OPRAH WINFREY
'She was important in so many ways. She launched African American women writing in the United States. She was generous to a fault. She had nineteen talents - used ten. And was a real original. There is no duplicate' TONI MORRISON
Dans ce récit, considéré aujourd'hui comme un classique de la littérature américaine, Maya Angelou relate son parcours hors du commun, ses débuts d'écrivain et de militante dans l'Amérique des années 1960 marquée par le racisme anti-Noir, ses combats, ses amours. Son témoignage, dénué de la moindre complaisance, révèle une personnalité exemplaire. à la lire, on mesure - mieux encore - le chemin parcouru par la société américaine en moins d'un demi-siècle...
Une leçon de vie de la grande Maya Angelou croquée avec malice par Géraldine Alibeu, l'une des plus talentueuses illustratrices actuelles." Les fauves rugissants et les animaux gluants ?
Ils ne me font pas peur. Les garçons de ma classe qui tirent sur ma tignasse ?
Ils ne me font pas peur. Être toute seule, le soir, plongée dans le noir ?
Ça ne me fait pas peur du tout. "
À travers les mots d'une petite fille qui n'a pas froid aux yeux, Maya Angelou délivre son secret pour combattre les terreurs infantiles : s'ouvrir aux pouvoirs du rêve et aux forces de l'imagination... Une leçon de vie d'une grande dame des lettres, poète, conteuse et romancière africaine-américaine, figure de la lutte pour les droits civiques.
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A memoir about motherhood and music from the bestselling author of I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS
'A brilliant writer, a fierce friend and a truly phenomenal woman' Barack Obama
Maya Angelou's seven volumes of autobiography are a testament to the talents and resilience of this extraordinary writer. Loving the world, she also knows its cruelty. As a black woman she has known discrimination and extreme poverty, but also hope, joy, achievement and celebration.
In this her third marvellous volume, music and her son are the focus of Maya Angelou's life. She is on the edge of a new world: marriage, show business and a triumphant tour of Porgy and Bess.
'She moved through the world with unshakeable calm, confidence and a fierce grace . . . She will always be the rainbow in my clouds' OPRAH WINFREY
'She was important in so many ways. She launched African American women writing in the United States. She was generous to a fault. She had nineteen talents - used ten. And was a real original. There is no duplicate' TONI MORRISON
'In the first decade of the twentieth century, it was not a good time to be born black, or woman, in America.'
So begins this stunning portrait of Vivian Baxter Johnson: the first black woman officer in the Merchant Marines, purveyor of a gambling business and rooming house, and mother to Maya Angelou, beloved and bestselling author I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS.
'A brilliant writer, a fierce friend and a truly phenomenal woman' BARACK OBAMA
Anyone who's read the classic, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, knows Maya Angelou was raised by her paternal grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. In Mom & Me & Mom, Angelou details what brought her mother to send her away and unearths the well of emotions Angelou experienced long afterward as a result. While Angelou's six autobiographies tell of her out in the world, influencing and learning from statesmen and cultural icons, Mom & Me & Mom shares the intimate, emotional story about her own family.
'She moved through the world with unshakeable calm, confidence and a fierce grace . . . She will always be the rainbow in my clouds' OPRAH WINFREY
'She was important in so many ways. She launched African American women writing in the United States. She was generous to a fault. She had nineteen talents - used ten. And was a real original. There is no duplicate' TONI MORRISON
A memoir about home and belonging, from the author of I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS
'A brilliant writer, a fierce friend and a truly phenomenal woman' BARACK OBAMA
Maya Angelou's seven volumes of autobiography, beginning with I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS, are a testament to the talents and resilience of this extraordinary writer. Though she fiercely loves the world, as a black woman, she also knows its cruelty.
Angelou has known discrimination and extreme poverty, but also hope, joy, achievement and celebration. In the fifth volume, Maya Angelou emigrates to Ghana only to discover that 'you can't go home again', but she comes to a new awareness of love and friendship, civil rights and slavery - and the myth of mother Africa.
'She moved through the world with unshakeable calm, confidence and a fierce grace . . . She will always be the rainbow in my clouds' OPRAH WINFREY
'She was important in so many ways. She launched African American women writing in the United States. She was generous to a fault. She had nineteen talents - used ten. And was a real original. There is no duplicate' TONI MORRISON
A mouth-watering combination of recipes and autobiographical sketches from the much-loved and bestselling author of I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS.
'A brilliant writer, a fierce friend and a truly phenomenal woman' BARACK OBAMA
'She moved through the world with unshakeable calm, confidence and a fierce grace . . . She will always be the rainbow in my clouds' OPRAH WINFREY
'She was important in so many ways. She launched African American women writing in the United States. She was generous to a fault. She had nineteen talents - used ten. And was a real original. There is no duplicate' TONI MORRISON
A beautiful and inspiring collection of poetry by Maya Angelou, author of I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS and 'a brilliant writer, a fierce friend and a truly phenomenal woman' (BARACK OBAMA).
'I write about being a Black American woman, however, I am always talking about what it's like to be a human being. This is how we are, what makes us laugh, and this is how we fall and how we somehow, amazingly, stand up again' Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou's poetry - lyrical and dramatic, exuberant and playful - speaks of love, longing, partings; of Saturday night partying, and the smells and sounds of Southern cities; of freedom and shattered dreams.
'Her poetry is just as much a part of her autobiography as I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and the volumes that follow.' Kirkus
'It is true poetry she is writing . . . it has an innate purity about it, unquenchable dignity' M. F. K. Fisher
Maya Angelou's poetry - lyrical and dramatic, exuberant and playful - speaks of love, longings, partings; of Saturday night partying and the smells and sounds of Southern cities; of freedom and shattered dreams. Of her poetry, Kirkus Reviews has written, 'It is just as much a part of her autobiography as I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Gather Together in My Name, Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas, and The Heart of a Woman'.
A marvellous collection of poetry from the beloved and bestselling author of I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS.
'A brilliant writer, a fierce friend and a truly phenomenal woman' BARACK OBAMA
Poems of love and regret, of racial strife and confrontation, songs of the people and songs of the heart - all are charged with Maya Angelou's zest for life and her rage at injustice. Lyrical, tender poems of longing, wry glances at betrayal and isolation combine with a fierce insight into 'hate and hateful wrath' in an unforgettable picture of the hopes and concerns of one of America's finest writers.
'She moved through the world with unshakeable calm, confidence and a fierce grace . . . She will always be the rainbow in my clouds' OPRAH WINFREY
'She was important in so many ways. She launched African American women writing in the United States. She was generous to a fault. She had nineteen talents - used ten. And was a real original. There is no duplicate' TONI MORRISON
Lessons in living from the bestselling and beloved author of I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS
A brilliant writer, a fierce friend and a truly phenomenal woman' BARACK OBAMA
The woman warrior who is armed with wit and courage will be among the first to celebrate victory' says Maya Angelou, bestselling author of I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS and one of our best-loved writers. Here she writes about family, argues for spirit and grace, insists on the importance of laughter and style and reflects on brutality and crime. She has the courage to say the unfashionable: 'virtue, purity, temperance, goodness, worth or even moderation...we must return them to a vigorous role in our lives', and the wit to call for them with humour. As lessons in living, they are a unique inspiration.
'She moved through the world with unshakeable calm, confidence and a fierce grace . . . She will always be the rainbow in my clouds' OPRAH WINFREY
'She was important in so many ways. She launched African American women writing in the United States. She was generous to a fault. She had nineteen talents - used ten. And was a real original. There is no duplicate' TONI MORRISON
Since the publication of her first autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou has been celebrated as one of America's most important writers and her words are indelibly imprinted on the hearts of millions.Inspired by the woman who has inspired us all, Rainbow in the Cloud offers nearly 300 of Dr Angelou's wonderful quotes, organised in themed sections (including art, love, spirituality, womanhood, and life in the American South) - from sage advice and beautiful stanzas to humorous quips and pointed observations - drawn from each of her published works and from her celebrated (and much shared) social media posts. This collection also features special words of wisdom she shared often with her family, chosen by her son, Guy Johnson.
