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| On the Move | |
|---|---|
| Name | On the Move |
| Author | Maya Angelou |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Autobiography |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Pub date | 1983 |
| Pages | 268 |
| Preceded by | I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings |
| Followed by | All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes |
On the Move is an autobiographical work by Maya Angelou published in 1983. The book continues Angelou's life narrative, tracing her career from the late 1950s through the early 1960s and documenting interactions with prominent figures in American literature, African American history, civil rights movement, and the international arts community. It situates personal experience within broader cultural and political currents involving artists, activists, and institutions.
On the Move chronicles a period when Angelou transitions from singer and dancer to poet, memoirist, and cultural commentator, intersecting with figures such as Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Muhammad Ali. The narrative covers performance venues, publishing landmarks, and broadcast platforms linked to NBC, ABC, CBS, and theatrical spaces like Off-Broadway houses and clubs in San Francisco, New York City, and Los Angeles. Angelou's network spans literary salons, recording studios, and political gatherings involving organizations such as the Congress of Racial Equality and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Angelou developed the memoir following success with earlier volumes including I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and her work with institutions like Grove Press and Random House. The book emerged amid collaborations with artists and intellectuals shaped by earlier movements, including the Harlem Renaissance's legacy, the rise of Black Arts Movement conversations, and transatlantic exchanges with figures from Paris and London. Editorial decisions were influenced by Angelou's relationships with editors and publishers connected to Viking Press, agents linked to William Morris Endeavor, and contemporaneous memoirists like James Baldwin and Toni Morrison. The memoir’s development was also informed by Angelou's engagements with broadcast producers at BBC and prominent photographers such as Gordon Parks.
First issued in hardcover by Random House in 1983, subsequent editions appeared in paperback from Ballantine Books and collected formats from Vintage Books. Translations were produced for markets in France, Germany, Japan, Spain, and Brazil, involving publishers like Gallimard, Suhrkamp, and Kodansha. Audiobook versions were recorded for distribution by labels connected to Simon & Schuster Audio and featured readings by Angelou herself, a practice she shared with contemporaries such as herself and narrators like James Earl Jones. Special editions included introductions or forewords by literary figures affiliated with The New Yorker and commemorative releases coordinated with institutions such as the Library of Congress.
The memoir explores themes of identity, resilience, artistic ambition, and race relations through episodes involving performances at clubs like The Village Vanguard, recording sessions for labels including Capitol Records, and collaborations with dancers and musicians connected to Nina Simone, Sam Cooke, Porgy and Bess performers, and producers associated with Motown Records. Angelou recounts friendships and tensions with writers such as Ralph Ellison, Richard Wright, Audre Lorde, and Langston Hughes, and interactions with political figures including Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.. The text addresses travel to places like Accra, Lagos, and Ghana where expatriate communities and Pan-African conferences involved leaders linked to Kwame Nkrumah and delegates from Organization of African Unity. Literary technique blends poetic language with reportage-style detail, echoing strategies used by contemporaries like James Baldwin and Zora Neale Hurston. Recurring motifs include performance, migration, mentorship, and the intersection of public celebrity with private introspection, resonating with themes in later memoirs by Toni Morrison and essays in The New Yorker.
Critics and scholars responded to the memoir across journals such as The New York Times Book Review, The Paris Review, and The Atlantic, situating it within debates initiated by figures like Edward Said on narrative voice and by historians of African American literature tracing continuity from W.E.B. Du Bois and Countee Cullen to later writers. Reviewers noted Angelou’s eloquence and theatrical sensibility, comparing her prose to that of James Baldwin and the lyricism of Claude McKay. The book influenced subsequent memoirists including Alice Walker, Cheryl Strayed, and Ta-Nehisi Coates in approaches to memory and identity. Academics incorporated the memoir into curricula at institutions such as Harvard University, University of California, Berkeley, Howard University, and Columbia University, prompting dissertations engaging with themes recognized by awards like the Pulitzer Prize (contextually) and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Material from the memoir informed performances, spoken-word events, and stage adaptations presented at venues like Lincoln Center and festivals including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Milanese literary fairs. Angelou’s performances of passages on radio and television intersected with programming on PBS and appearances on talk shows produced by hosts such as Oprah Winfrey and Dick Cavett. Cultural references appear in works by filmmakers like Spike Lee and musicians sampling Angelou’s recitations in albums distributed by Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records. The memoir’s influence is evident in exhibitions curated by institutions like the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and retrospectives organized by the Smithsonian Institution.
Category:1983 books Category:American autobiographies Category:Maya Angelou