Tag Archives: Maya Angelou

Passing On: Amiri Baraka, Suzan-Lori Parks, Claudia Rankine

January 22, 2014 James Baldwin probably felt a tinge of jealousy at the sight of Amiri Baraka, Maya Angelou, and Toni Morrison at his funeral. Thousands of people there, and those three in particular, so eloquent in their tribute, but … Continue reading

Posted in African-American literature, collaboration, contemporary poetry, jazz, Music, Theater | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Writer and the Politician

December 11, 2013 They had first met in Cairo, in 1961, when she was working for “The Arab Observer,” an English-language weekly, and married to Vusumzi Make.  Make and Mandela were political enemies, as were their organizations — the Pan Africanist … Continue reading

Posted in Africa, Atlantic, contemporary poetry, Global South, YouTube videos | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Writers getting old: Ashbery, Angelou, Morrison

November 13, 2013 I was standing at the very back, and saw only a wall of people in front.  I’d also missed the introduction.   For most of reading, all I got was the voice, surprisingly strong, vigorous, the voice … Continue reading

Posted in African-American literature, Contemporary novel, contemporary poetry, Friendship, Libraries, Literary awards | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

James Baldwin’s friends

July 31, 2013 Well, at least they went to high school together, that accounts for it: DeWitt Clinton High School, in the north Bronx.   By the time James Baldwin and Richard Avedon brought out Nothing Personal (1964), they’d known … Continue reading

Posted in African-American literature, Educational institutions, Photography | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Audre Lorde in Mexico, Maya Angelou in Ghana

September 26, 2012 2012 marks the twentieth anniversary of the death of Audre Lorde.  She had died at the age of 58, after 14 years of battling with breast cancer. But even before that, Lorde had always seemed associated with … Continue reading

Posted in Africa, African-American literature, Americas, Autobiography, Ethnicity, Genre, Global South, Latin America, mexico, Race, Twentieth century literature, Universities, world literature | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Maya Angelou, Walt Whitman: Songs of Myself

September 19, 2012 As of today, “Still I Rise” has 743,494 views on YouTube.  There are 1,113 comments, some vituperative, including this one: “What the fuck kind of poetry is this? John Milton would rise from the dead to kill … Continue reading

Posted in African-American literature, African-American music, contemporary poetry, digital platforms, Genre, Interdisciplinarity, lyric, Media, Music, Nineteenth-century literature, Race, slavery, Twentieth century literature, YouTube videos | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment