Maya Angelou presents intimate, inspirational spoken word evening

Media Contact:

Kristen Gleason
Director of Marketing
The Paramount Theater
215 East Main Street
Charlottesville, VA 22902
434.979.1922 ext. 103
kristen@theparamount.net

For Immediate Release

September 19, 2007

Maya Angelou is hailed as one of the great voices of contemporary literature and as a remarkable Renaissance woman.  Poet, educator, historian, best-selling author, actress, playwright, civil-rights activist, producer, and director, Dr. Angelou is perhaps best-known for the autobiographical writings I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969) and All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes (1986).  Her volume of poetry Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Die (1971) was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. 

Lyrically captivating audiences worldwide with vigor, fire, and perception, Angelou will bring her legendary wisdom to the intimate setting of The Paramount Theater for an inspirational spoken word evening. Originally slated for August 30, Angelou’s appearance has been rescheduled for Thursday, October 4 at 8 pm.

This event is sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. J. Gray Ferguson.  Special Media Sponsor is WCAV CBS 19 Charlottesville.

Born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri on April 4, 1928, Maya Angelou grew up in St. Louis and Stamps, Arkansas.  Her autobiographical prose also includes The Heart of a Woman (1981), Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas (1976), and Gather Together in My Name (1974).  

Among her volumes of poetry are A Brave and Startling Truth (1995), The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou (1994), Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now (1993), Now Sheba Sings the Song (1987), I Shall Not Be Moved (1990), Shaker, Why Don't You Sing? (1983), and Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well (1975).

During one of her first deeds of activism, Angelou persisted at age 15 in becoming the first black person hired on the San Francisco streetcars.  In 1959, at the request of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Maya Angelou became the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. From 1961 to 1962 she was associate editor of The Arab Observer in Cairo, Egypt -- the only English-language news weekly in the Middle East.  From 1964 to 1966 she was feature editor of the African Review in Accra, Ghana. 

Returning to the US in 1974, she was appointed by President Gerald Ford to the Bicentennial Commission and later by President Jimmy Carter to the Commission for International Woman of the Year.  She accepted a lifetime appointment in 1981 as Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

In 1993, President Bill Clinton requested that Angelou compose and read original poetry for his second inauguration.  With the poem On The Pulse of  Morning, she became only the second poet in US history to present work at a Presidential inauguration.  She has also recited poetry for noteworthy occasions including the Million Man March and 2005’s Pageant of Peace National Christmas Tree Ceremony.

The first black woman director in Hollywood, Angelou has written, produced, directed, and starred in productions for stage, film, and television.  She wrote and produced the Golden Eagle Award-winning PBS documentary Afro-Americans in the Arts.  Her Broadway debut in Look Away (1973) was nominated for a Tony Award, and her performance in Roots (1977) was nominated for an Emmy Award. 

Angelou has been awarded two Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word Album -- in 1993 for On The Pulse of Morning, and 2002 for A Song Flung Up to Heaven.  Awarded the Presidential Medal of Arts in 2000, Angelo was given the Mother Teresa Award in 2006 for her untiring devotion and service to humanity.

Speaking of her motivational and elegant writing, Angelou simply says, "I pray to be telling the truth and telling it eloquently,"

Tickets for the spoken word evening with Maya Angelou at The Paramount on Thursday, August 30 are $75.50, $85.50, $100.50, and $125.50.  All ticketholders who purchased their tickets for the original August 30 date may use them for the October 4 engagement. 

Tickets are available online or through The Paramount’s Box Office at 434.979.1333. 

For more information about Dr. Maya Angelou, please visit www.mayaangelou.com.