Episode 1
4 Extra Debut. 1965: Back from Africa, Maya is to start working for Malcolm X, but tragedy strikes when he is assassinated. Starring Don Gilet.
When Maya Angelou returns from Ghana the first person she calls is Malcolm X.
She wants to spend some time with her mother and brother in San Francisco before she begins working with Malcolm in New York.
Then Malcolm is assassinated.
Devastated, Maya is shocked by people's apathetic reaction to the news.
Maya Angelou's memoir dramatised in five parts by Patricia Cumper.
Narrator, older Maya ...... Adjoa Andoh
Maya ...... Pippa Bennett-Warner
Malcolm X ...... Don Gilet
Bailey ...... Samuel Anderson
Mother ...... Ellen Thomas
The books that make up the life and times of Maya Angelou are some of the best, most beautiful and haunting pieces of autobiography written.
They run the gamut from life affirming to tragedy and back again with a tone that is a joyous, direct and searingly honest, and are an extraordinary portrait of 20th-century black America.
Director: Pauline Harris
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2019.
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The Amazing Maya Angelou
Joyous and haunting, mysterious and memorable - her life story is incredible.
Broadcasts
Mon 25 Feb 201910:45BBC Radio 4- Mon 25 Feb 201919:45BBC Radio 4
- Mon 18 Dec 202307:15BBC Radio 4 Extra
- Mon 18 Dec 202312:15BBC Radio 4 Extra
- Mon 18 Dec 202317:15BBC Radio 4 Extra
- Tue 19 Dec 202302:15BBC Radio 4 Extra
10 surprising things you might not know about Maya Angelou
Intriguing facts about her extraordinary life.
14 famous people who have been inspired by Maya Angelou
Maya’s life, work and wisdom inspired many people to achieve great things too.
10 incredible Maya Angelou quotes to live your life by
Astonishing words from one of the 20th Century's most iconic writers and poets.
Subscribe to the podcast
Dramatisations of Maya Angelou’s autobiographies, plus specially selected archive.
