''The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou'' is author and poet Maya Angelou's collection of poetry, published by

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

in 1994. It is Angelou's first collection of poetry published after she read her poem "

On the Pulse of Morning "On the Pulse of Morning" is a poem by writer and poet Maya Angelou that she read at the first inauguration of President Bill Clinton on January 20, 1993. With her public recitation, Angelou became the second poet in history to read a poem ...

" at President Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993. It contains her previous five books of poetry, published between 1971—1990. Her prose works have been more successful than her poetry, which has received little serious attention by critics.

History

''The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou'' is Maya Angelou's first collection of poetry. By the time of its publication in 1994, she had published five autobiographies, eventually going on to publish seven, and five books of poetry. She began, early in her writing career, alternating the publication of an autobiography and a volume of poetry. Her publisher,

, placed the poems of her previous volumes in this collection, perhaps to capitalize on her popularity following her reading of her poem "

" at President Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993. The volumes included in the collection are '' Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie'' (1971), ''

Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well ''Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well'' is a book of poems by American author Maya Angelou, published by Random House in 1975. It is Angelou's second volume of poetry, written after her first two autobiographies and first volume of poetry were ...

'' (1975), '' And Still I Rise'' (1978), ''

Shaker, Why Don't You Sing? ''Shaker, Why Don't You Sing?'' is author and poet Maya Angelou's fourth volume of poetry, published by Random House in 1983. It was published during one of the most productive periods in Angelou's career; she had written four autobiographies a ...

'' (1983), and ''

I Shall Not Be Moved "I Shall Not Be Moved", also known as "We Shall Not Be Moved", is an African-American slave spiritual, hymn, and protest song dating to the early 19th century American south. It was likely originally sung at revivalist camp-meetings as a slav ...

'' (1990). Also included was "On the Pulse of Morning". Angelou's publisher placed four previously-published poems in a smaller volume, entitled ''Phenomenal Woman ''in 1995. Angelou at Clinton inauguration

Angelou studied and began writing poetry at a young age. After her rape at the age of eight, as recounted in her first autobiography ''

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings ''I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings'' is a 1969 autobiography describing the young and early years of American writer and poet Maya Angelou. The first in a seven-volume series, it is a coming-of-age story that illustrates how strength of charact ...

''(1969), she dealt with her trauma by memorizing and reciting great works of literature, including poetry, which helped bring her out of her self-imposed muteness. Angelou considered herself a playwright and poet when her editor Robert Loomis challenged her to write ''Caged Bird'', but she has been best known for her autobiographies. Many of her readers identify her as a poet first and an autobiographer second, but like Lynn Z. Bloom, many critics consider her autobiographies more important than her poetry.Bloom, Lynn Z. (1985). "Maya Angelou". In ''Dictionary of Literary Biography African American Writers after 1955, Vol. 38''. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Company, pp. 10–11. Critic William Sylvester has stated that although her books have been best-sellers, her poetry has "received little serious critical attention". Bloom also believes that Angelou's poetry is more interesting when she recites them. Bloom calls her performances "characteristically dynamic", and says that Angelou "moves exuberantly, vigorously to reinforce the rhythms of the lines, the tone of the words. Her singing and dancing and electrifying stage presence transcend the predictable words and phrases".

References

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou 1983 poetry books American poetry collections Random House books Poetry by Maya Angelou Books by Maya Angelou