Maya Angelou Film and Theater Collection
The Maya Angelou Film and Theater Collection documents the author and poet's extensive work in the performing arts. The collection contains materials relating to Angelou's work as a playwright, actor, director, screenwriter, interviewer, and documentary filmmaker. Formats include manuscript, print, audio, and video.
Biographical and Historical Note
Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Ann Johnson on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. Her parents divorced when she was three years old, and she and her four-year-old brother Bailey were sent to live with their paternal grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. The children were eventually reunited with their mother in San Francisco, but Angelou returned to Stamps to live with her grandmother again as a teenager. Her only child, Guy Johnson, was born in 1944.
Angelou began her professional career as a singer, dancer, and actor. She performed in plays and muscials on and off-Broadway, and she traveled widely, touring Europe and Africa in the cast of Porgy and Bess. She was also active in the Civil Rights Movement.
In 1969 she published I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the first of her autobiographical works, for which she is best known. Angelou went on to publish more than 30 books of memoirs, as well as many volumes of poetry. In 1993 she read her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at the inauguration ceremony for President Bill Clinton.
Angelou continued to be active in the performing arts throughout her career, as a playwright, screenwriter, producer, and presenter for stage, television, and film projects. In 1972 her screenplay Georgia, Georgia became the first feature film written by an African American woman. She was chosen to participate in the American Film Institute's Directing Workshop for Women in 1974, and in 1975 she became the first Black woman member of the Directors Guild of America.
Angelou first visited Wake Forest as a visiting lecturer in 1973. In 1982 she was appointed to the first Z. Smith Reynolds chaired professorship in American Studies, a position she held until her death. She also was the recipient of many honorary doctorates and is often referred to as Dr. Angelou. Angelou passed away at her home in Winston Salem on May 28, 2014, at the age of 86.
Collection Overview
The collection consists of materials relating to Maya Angelou's work in the performing arts. Materials include original scripts for film and theater; adaptations by Angelou of her own and other authors' works; items relating to productions which Angelou produced, directed, or appeared in; documentaries and interviews; and ephemeral materials. Formats include manuscript, print, audio, and video.
Collection Arrangement
Series correspond to play and film production names, related organizations, and assorted video and audio recordings, and are arranged in alphabetical order.
Controlled Access Headings
Corporate Names
Subjects
Administrative Information
- Publication Information
- Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives, 2011
- Revision Description
- Revised by Kristin Weisse, Stephanie Bennett, Megan Mulder, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2023
- Revision Description
- Revised by Sam Sfirri, 2025 October
- Access Restrictions
- Collection is open to researchers, with the exception of materials that are marked RESTRICTED. These items are restricted for privacy reasons. Please contact archives@wfu.edu with any questions.
- Copyright Notice
- The nature of the WFU Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The Archives and Special Collections of ZSR Library claims only physical ownership of most materials. The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to the U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
- Existence and location of copies
- There are copies of the following materials in Box 73: - "Afro American History Specials: the arts" Final Script for Part 1 - "Sisters" typed final screenplay (unbound) - VHS "And Still I Rise" (7 copies) - unlabled VHS tape - "By Line- Maya Angelou" - Richard Pryor - "Lifestyles with Robin Leach and Sharu Belafonte" (2 copies) - "Against the Odds," hosted by Maya Angelou.
- Preferred Citation
- Maya Angelou Film and Theater Collection (MS597), Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.