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The Heart of a Woman
(Maya Angelou's Autobiography #4)
by
Maya Angelou has fascinated, moved, and inspired countless readers with the first three volumes of her autobiography, one of the most remarkable personal narratives of our age. Now, in her fourth volume, The Heart of a Woman, her turbulent life breaks wide open with joy as the singer-dancer enters the razzle-dazzle of fabulous New York City. There, at the Harlem Writers Gu
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Hardcover, 288 pages
Published
May 17th 1997
by Random House
(first published April 1981)
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Start your review of The Heart of a Woman
4.5 stars
This is the fourth volume of Maya Angelou’s autobiography, the title comes from a poem by Georgia Johnson:
“The heart of a woman goes forth with the dawn,
As a lone bird, soft winging, so restlessly on,
Afar o'er life's turrets and vales does it roam
In the wake of those echoes the heart calls home.
The heart of a woman falls back with the night,
And enters some alien cage in its plight,
And tries to forget it has dreamed of the stars
While it breaks, breaks, breaks on the sheltering bars.”
This ...more
This is the fourth volume of Maya Angelou’s autobiography, the title comes from a poem by Georgia Johnson:
“The heart of a woman goes forth with the dawn,
As a lone bird, soft winging, so restlessly on,
Afar o'er life's turrets and vales does it roam
In the wake of those echoes the heart calls home.
The heart of a woman falls back with the night,
And enters some alien cage in its plight,
And tries to forget it has dreamed of the stars
While it breaks, breaks, breaks on the sheltering bars.”
This ...more
Sep 09, 2014
Eman
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction,
20th-century-lit
The Heart of a Woman is Maya Angelou's forth autobiography. This book reveals more of Maya's hectic adventures, political opinions, struggle with racism, and misfortune in the romance department. You will be introduced to Maya, the activist, who works for Martin Luther King Jr. and gets to meet Malcolm X. I like that each chapter is exciting enough to keep me interested.
I'm not surprised that she was able to keep her writing fresh and crispy with just the right amount of tasteful humor. Her son, ...more
Another Wonderful Book
My journey along with Maya Angelou continues. This book is about her struggles while encountering her African roots. Is she African or African American is a huge theme throughout
Maya travels to Africa are preceded by trying to decide between the peaceful philosophies of Dr. Martin Luther King and the confrontational ways of Malcom X. At times her descriptions of her confusing encounters confused me as well.
The writing is descriptive and colorful, especially during the tri ...more
My journey along with Maya Angelou continues. This book is about her struggles while encountering her African roots. Is she African or African American is a huge theme throughout
Maya travels to Africa are preceded by trying to decide between the peaceful philosophies of Dr. Martin Luther King and the confrontational ways of Malcom X. At times her descriptions of her confusing encounters confused me as well.
The writing is descriptive and colorful, especially during the tri ...more
Many years ago, I attended a Maya Angelou reading and afterwards, she signed one of her books for me. A lovely lady, she was outgoing and gracious. This memoir covers her early 30s. She meets and works for historical icons like Billie Holiday and MLK. I was surprised to learn some things about her I didn't know before, but I won't play spoiler and recount them here. She certainly had more than her share of heartbreaks and challenges. I thoroughly enjoyed the read.
...more
I have to say, of all of Maya Angelou's biographies I've read so far, this is my least favorite. The pacing felt a bit off and themes changed too abruptly. Still, it's a good book. I loved some parts of it, like the Billie Holiday story, or the time she confronted a white woman who came to watch her play but couldn't bear to think about her actions in the real world. I also loved how she depicted her mysoginistic lovers, and the way she reacts to them. And of course, I'm still shocked by her ama
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This book is inspiring and reminds you that no matter what you are going through that it can be overcome. Maya Angelou's writing is honest, poetic and REAL. I find her style to be full of poetic imagery as is seen in this quote p. 52 "His features had the immutability of a Benin mask...his teeth like flags of truce. His skin the color of rich black dirt along the Arkansas river."
The following lucid and eloquent quotes remind one to persevere in the face of all things opposing:
"If I ended in def ...more
The following lucid and eloquent quotes remind one to persevere in the face of all things opposing:
"If I ended in def ...more
What kind of book is this? the BEST kind of book, one that is emotionally warm, intellectually stimulating and all that spiced with a touch of wisdom! The Heart of a Woman is a memoir by Maya Angelou, so far the only memoir of her that I have read and I understand she has written several of them. The events Maya describes in this book take place between 1957 and 1962 and in that sense this book is a continuation of her previous memoirs.
I didn’t mind the fact that this wasn’t the first one and I ...more
I didn’t mind the fact that this wasn’t the first one and I ...more
I really didn't like this book, which surprised me since I remember really liking "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." Her life is interesting, no doubt, but I found the book to be trite, unnatural and self-indulgent. The dialogue and general intereactions between characters was not convincing, which I find disturbing considering that this is not a work of fiction.
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4.5 Stars!
I love me some Dr. Maya Angelou! I wish she was here right now, I feel like we need her wisdom and beautiful words today more than ever.
Dr. Angelou was wise and she got her wisdom the way everyone should....Through life experience. Dr. Angelou lived so many different lives. She went through the worst possible things and she never lost her sense of hope and humanity. I think the reason Dr. Angelou was so well loved and respected was because she always told her truth.
The Heart of a Wo ...more
I love me some Dr. Maya Angelou! I wish she was here right now, I feel like we need her wisdom and beautiful words today more than ever.
Dr. Angelou was wise and she got her wisdom the way everyone should....Through life experience. Dr. Angelou lived so many different lives. She went through the worst possible things and she never lost her sense of hope and humanity. I think the reason Dr. Angelou was so well loved and respected was because she always told her truth.
The Heart of a Wo ...more
In 'The Heart of a Woman' Maya Angelou leaves California with her son, Guy, to go to New York, where she enters the world of black artists and writers. She begins to share her writing and performs at the Apollo Theater in Harlem; but the momentum of the story lies in her part in the struggle of black Americans for freedom: she is appointed Martin Luther King's Northern Coordinator. She takes a leading role in Genet's The Blacks, with a notable cast (including Godfrey Cambridge, Roscoe Lee Brown,
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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A slice from some years of Maya Angelou's life.
Angelou juggles raising a kid alone, working in showbiz, navigating relationships--serendipitously, she falls into black activist work through which she'll meet MLKjr, Malcolm X--she'll marry a South African activist and move with him and her son to Cairo--become an editor of a weekly newspaper there--
Angelou's life beats in strong clear waves---she was a singer, an artist, a writer, a poet, an actor, an organizer, an activist, a mother---
How soberi ...more
Angelou juggles raising a kid alone, working in showbiz, navigating relationships--serendipitously, she falls into black activist work through which she'll meet MLKjr, Malcolm X--she'll marry a South African activist and move with him and her son to Cairo--become an editor of a weekly newspaper there--
Angelou's life beats in strong clear waves---she was a singer, an artist, a writer, a poet, an actor, an organizer, an activist, a mother---
How soberi ...more
Read this riding my 'I know why the caged bird sings' high. What struck me as the most different - and the most disappointing - part of this book was that it read more as a chronology.
Really exciting things happening in her life and the world at this time, but didn't have the same story-telling charm as caged bird.
Like it none the less.
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Really exciting things happening in her life and the world at this time, but didn't have the same story-telling charm as caged bird.
Like it none the less.
...more
So many punchlines!
The thing about reading memoirs is that it allows you to see through the author's narrative. Maya Angelou did a remarkable job in making her point understood through vivid encounters, heated conversations, musings, constant reflections, and cultural subtleties.
Maya is a poet, a writer, a singer, an artist, an activist, and most of all, a mother. As a black American woman in Harlem, she learned how to play the game. Braving the streets of New York and London, she speaks with r ...more
The thing about reading memoirs is that it allows you to see through the author's narrative. Maya Angelou did a remarkable job in making her point understood through vivid encounters, heated conversations, musings, constant reflections, and cultural subtleties.
Maya is a poet, a writer, a singer, an artist, an activist, and most of all, a mother. As a black American woman in Harlem, she learned how to play the game. Braving the streets of New York and London, she speaks with r ...more
This and more @ The Local Muse:
This is the forth book in Angelou's memoir series and takes place in 1960s. Angelou writes about her involvement in the American Civil Rights Movement as well as her time living in South Africa as the wife of a South American Civil Rights leader.
I love Maya Angelou; she's one of my heroes and all-time favorite poets. I am loving her memoirs; she was such an incredible woman. I haven't reviewed all of the memoirs I have read so far on the blog, but I have enjoyed e ...more
This is the forth book in Angelou's memoir series and takes place in 1960s. Angelou writes about her involvement in the American Civil Rights Movement as well as her time living in South Africa as the wife of a South American Civil Rights leader.
I love Maya Angelou; she's one of my heroes and all-time favorite poets. I am loving her memoirs; she was such an incredible woman. I haven't reviewed all of the memoirs I have read so far on the blog, but I have enjoyed e ...more
At the part where the producer said he wouldn't pay for the songs for the play because Maya and Ethel 'just sat down at the piano and made it up' I nearly screamed WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK COMPOSERS ACTUALLY DO?
Maya's writing is amazing - so good - lean and evocative. I don't actively go in for autobiographies but I will be looking out for her other books for sure. ...more
Maya's writing is amazing - so good - lean and evocative. I don't actively go in for autobiographies but I will be looking out for her other books for sure. ...more
Fourth volume of Angelou's biography. Very good. Her adventures in Africa.
...more
Deep, honest and riveting. Love Maya. Her works are soulful and real.
“Years before I had understood that all I had to do, really had to do, was stay black and die. Nothing could be more interesting than the first, or more permanent than the latter.”
With severely limited book supply in my part of the world I still somehow managed to get hold of this one. I haven’t read part 3, and I couldn’t find it for now, so I just decided to go ahead with part 4, The Heart of a Woman. I swore to myself I will not bore you all over again by confessing my undying love for this ...more
With severely limited book supply in my part of the world I still somehow managed to get hold of this one. I haven’t read part 3, and I couldn’t find it for now, so I just decided to go ahead with part 4, The Heart of a Woman. I swore to myself I will not bore you all over again by confessing my undying love for this ...more
As with the previous volumes of Maya Angelou's autobiography, she pulls you into her adventurous, vibrant, and tumultuous life. The Heart of a Woman was certainly no different. Amidst her involvement in the Harlem literary scene with the likes of James Baldwin, to her journey into civil rights activism working for Martin Luther King, through to her love affair with a South African civil rights activist, there is a real sense of Maya Angelou making her place in the world - as an activist, as a wr
...more
Utterly captivating. As usual, Maya is able to draw us into her adventurous life. Her writing allows us to immerse ourselves in the roller coaster of her emotions. I love her writing and story-telling and could read her again and again.
Ok! So where had we got in Maya Angelou's autobiography last time? She'd gone from dancing in a strip club to singing professionally around America. In this book she moves with her son Guy to New York and works for Martin Luther King Jr as a manager.
Then she gets married to an African freedom fighter who's over petitioning the UN, moves to Egypt, the dude can't manage his finances so she gets a job as an associate editor at a newspaper (with no journalistic experience in a country where women d ...more
Then she gets married to an African freedom fighter who's over petitioning the UN, moves to Egypt, the dude can't manage his finances so she gets a job as an associate editor at a newspaper (with no journalistic experience in a country where women d ...more
I waited entirely too long to read this book! It sat on my "to read" shelf for too long and I'm sad to say it was her passing that made me pick it up and start to read, wanting to feel close to her through her words. Now I regret having waited.. This book is so rich in the History she shares of her accounts of The Harlem Renaissance era, working with Dr. King and the Literary Writer's Guild she was part of. Not to mention the pearls of wisdom and cherished insights she shares as a woman and moth
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This volume of noted writer Maya Angelou's memoirs is full of amazing experiences.
Angelou worked for Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Southern Christian Leadership Conference in its early years. She met Billy Holliday. She acted with the likes of James Earl Jones, Roscoe Lee Browne, and Godfrey Cambridge.
Then she fell in love with a South African freedom fighter and went with him to live in Egypt.
What an amazing life! She felt deeply and wrote well. Wherever she went, her son was her main concern ...more
Angelou worked for Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Southern Christian Leadership Conference in its early years. She met Billy Holliday. She acted with the likes of James Earl Jones, Roscoe Lee Browne, and Godfrey Cambridge.
Then she fell in love with a South African freedom fighter and went with him to live in Egypt.
What an amazing life! She felt deeply and wrote well. Wherever she went, her son was her main concern ...more
I literally started and kept reading. Angelou is one courageous, outrageous woman. And this portion of her autobiography covers the late 50's and early 60's, a tumultuous time in this country with a great deal of similarity to the unrest we're currently living through, though the presenting issues seem different. (I'm not so sure they are, and the characters and mindsets seem the same to me.) For anyone who's interested in a creative life lived at full throttle, and/or who has questions about wh
...more
This is the fourth in the series of autobiographies by Maya Angelou, one time stripper, dancer, singer, actress and letterly American poet laureate. I have read the first three and look forward to reading the fifth and final episode. Angelou is frank about her mistakes and her successes and how she rose from being a child brought up in the American south during the days when black people and white people lived entirely separate lives. In this volume, she has started to find her feet as a writer
...more
Absolutely gripping, fabulously written, heartbreakingly honest. This book grabbed me by the throat and held on. Angelou lived in interesting times and writes about both personal and societal turmoil. She makes her experiences accessible and does not flinch from the difficulties that she faced (and overcame). Cameo appearances by famous people felt like a cool scene in a movie rather than mere name dropping. Watch for James Earl Jones, James Baldwin, plus meetings with Martin Luther King, Jr., a
...more
This was my first book by the indomitable Miss Angelou, but it won't be my last. She was incredible, with writing to rival her personality. This memoir focuses primarily on the time of her life when she was in a relationship with a South African civil rights activist who tried to mold her into the perfect African (rather than African-American) wife. Her spirit, work ethic, & sense of justice are all on full display as she struggles to be the perfect wife while also remaining an activist, a mothe
...more
Incredible. I've always loved to read the memoirs of interesting people, and Maya Angelou was, in my opinion, one of the most interesting people in the history of America. She fought hard for what she believed in, she loved hard, and she should be an inspiration to us all. To top off all of the interesting events in her memoir, her writing style flows beautifully, making this very hard to put down.
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Really enjoyed this volume of Maya Angelou's autobiography. Her writing is truthful and beautiful. I felt that I could relate to her as she discovered more about herself through her life experiences. Her depiction of her romantic relationships with the men she encountered at that point in her life, spoke to me as a woman forging a life for herself that is autonomous.
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| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diversity in All ...: The Heart of a Woman & All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes (November 2017) | 2 | 18 | Nov 17, 2017 08:34AM | |
| Mentor Texts: Mentor Texts | 1 | 6 | Apr 20, 2017 09:49PM | |
| Oprah's Book Club...: The Heart of a Woman | 2 | 39 | May 26, 2013 07:11PM |
Readers also enjoyed
Maya Angelou, born Marguerite Ann Johnson April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri, was an American poet, memoirist, actress and an important figure in the American Civil Rights Movement. In 2001 she was named one of the 30 most powerful women in America by Ladies Home Journal. Maya Angelou is known for her series of six autobiographies, starting with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, (1969) which was
...more
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Maya Angelou's Autobiography
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