One Book, One Community Read: Maya Angelou

One Book, One Community Read for 2014/15
Celebrates the Extraordinary Life and Work of
the Late Maya Angelou

What’s New

 

  • February, 2015, Read about A Celebration of Maya Angelou: Phenomenal Woman.
  • January, 2015, Read about our upcoming tribute to Maya Angelou through the art of performance dance.
  • December, 2014, Read about our branch’s collaboration with Irvington High School’s American Studies Program.
  • November, 2014, Read about our One Book, One Community Read program on Maya Angelou.
  • September, 2014, Read about our tribute to Maya Angelou.

About the Book and Its Author

 

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style”
Maya Angelou

MayaAngelouAuthor, poet, dancer, actress and singer Maya Angelou passed away May 28, 2014. She left an awesome legacy of seven autobiographies, three books of essays and several books of poetry. She was a principal in plays, movies and television shows spanning more than 50 years. And she received dozens of awards and over fifty honorary degrees. In short she was an inspirational phenomenon in all our lives and an incredible example of a Renaissance woman.

Because of all this AAUW Fremont Branch, in collaboration with the Fremont Main Library, is moved to celebrate the life, times and work of this phenomenal woman whose life is a shining example to us all.

Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Annie Johnson on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. She became a poet and author after a series of occupations as a young adult, including fry cook, prostitute, nightclub dancer and performer, cast member of the opera Porgy and Bess, coordinator for the Southern christian Leadership Conference and journalist in Egypt and Ghana during the decolonization of Africa. She had a troubled childhood but rose above a sea of trauma to become one of the most respected woman in America. For more information on her background click on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_Angelou.

Book Talk Schedule

Tuesday, October 28, 2014: A discussion of Maya Angelou’s classic autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. This will take place at 7:00 p.m. in the Fukaya Room at the Fremont Main Library on Stevenson Boulevard.

Tuesday, December 2nd, 2014: Irvington High School students will engage us in a discussion and creative performance centering around the book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. This will also take place in the Fukaya Room at the Fremont Main Library at 7:00 p.m.

Watch For: Announcements of future discussions of Maya Angelou’s poems including Phenomenal Woman (“Pretty women wonder where my secret lies”) and the poem And Still I Rise (“You may write me down in history; With your bitter twisted lies…”).

Team Maya Angelou

 

Chairpersons

Team Members

Links