Maya Angelou

Many of you may know of Angelou residence hall, named after Maya Angelou, but did you know the story behind her long and loving relationship with Wake Forest? Dr. Angelou came to Wake Forest in 1982 and taught poetry as Reynolds Professor of American Studies. One of my deep regrets is that I never took her class.

Dr. Angelou passed away four years ago, and at the time our excellent Wake Forest Magazine did a wonderful tribute to her life and legacy. You can read it here.

She was a towering presence. I remember her most from a poetry reading where she waltzed onstage wearing a brilliant red turban and instead of speaking, she began by singing. She had a booming, marvelous voice. She had so much gravitas. And our students were fortunate to be able to learn from her.

For the podcast fans out there, a colleague of mine alerted me to the fact that the BBC is doing an audio drama series of her autobiographies. If you are interested, you can find the podcast page here.