In 1978, her poetry collection And Still I Rise was published. This was followed by additional memoirs, books of poetry and plays, including a dramatic musical production called And Still I Rise that was produced in Oakland, California, in 1976. Her breakthrough memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, was published in 1969. One way Angelou coped following King's death was to write.

Years passed before she commemorated her birthday again. As Angelou was getting ready for a party on her birthday, April 4, she learned King had been assassinated. to bring attention to his Poor People’s Campaign and decided to take some time to celebrate her 40th birthday before accompanying King.

In 1968, things changed for the writer - she was preparing to join forces with Martin Luther King Jr. propelled Angelou to throw herself into her writing But until then, my goodness, those lines worry me like a mosquito in the ear.' The death of Martin Luther King Jr. Even if it’s just six lines, I pull out the champagne. However, Angelou admitted that writing poetry was always a challenge for her: 'When I come close to saying what I want to, I’m over the moon. While living in Egypt in the early 1960s, she edited an English-language newspaper and also spent time as a singer, dancer and actress. She authored plays, including one that was produced off-Broadway in 1960. She penned her first verses when she was still in school, and in the late 1950s, Angelou joined the Harlem Writers Guild, where she interacted with James Baldwin and other writers. Yet she didn't forget the wide breadth of literature she'd taken in, which included works by Paul Laurence Dunbar, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Emily Dickinson and William Shakespeare. But even when she wouldn't speak, Angelou studied and memorized poems, which gave her a unique understanding of language.Ī desire to express her love for poetry by speaking it aloud helped draw Angelou out of her mutism. Following this trauma, Angelou sought refuge in mutism. At the age of seven, she was raped by her mother's boyfriend, who was killed (presumably by family members seeking retribution) after she reported the crime. Angelou herself commented on its appeal in a 2008 interview: 'You know, if you're lonely you feel you've been done down, it's nice to have 'And Still I Rise.'' Poetry helped Angelou with her mutism as a childĪngelou grew up amid the degradations of the Jim Crow South. Years after it was published in 1978, the poem continues to reach readers and audiences, cutting across racial lines and national boundaries. Its message of liberation and survival was a consistent theme in Angelou's work. Maya Angelou's 'Still I Rise' is a powerful poem that draws on a range of influences, including her personal background and the African American experience in the United States.

And still i wrise writer