A revised and updated edition of a comprehensive biographical and critical reading of the works of American poet and memoirist Maya Angelou 1928-2014. Linda Wagner-Martin covers all six of Angelou's autobiographies, as well as her essay and poetry collections, whilst also exploring Angelou's life as an African American in the United States, her career as stage and film performer, her thoughtful participation in the Civil Rights actions of the 1960s, and her travels abroad in Egypt, Africa, and Europe. br br In her discussion of Angelou's methods of writing her stunning autobiography, which began with the 1970 publication ofi I Know Why the Caged Bird Singsi, Wagner-Martin writes about the influences of the Harlem Writers Group led by James Baldwin, Paule Marshall, and John O. Killens as well as Angelou's significant friendships with Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., and other leaders from both international and African American United States cultures. Crucial concepts throughout incl