The Complete List of Maya Angelou Poems & Books

Maya Angelou poems and books are a body of work that spoke directly to the soul of a nation and beyond. Through her acclaimed autobiographies and timeless poems, Angelou consistently centered the dignity, strength, and vulnerability of the human spirit in ways few others have.

In a world often too noisy to hear its own heartbeat, Maya Angelou was a singular voice that was rich, defiant, warm, and endlessly wise. Her life was not merely lived; it was curated like a sprawling literary epic, full of love and pain, trauma and triumph, movement and stillness. 

Maya Angelou was a poet, yes. A memoirist, a dancer, a singer, an activist. But most of all, she was a witness: to history, to struggle, and to the resilience of the human spirit.

In this post, we honor her literary legacy with a comprehensive list of all the Maya Angelou poems and books. From her powerful verses to her transformative memoirs, this is your guide to the full spectrum of Maya Angelou’s work.

Who is Maya Angelou? 

Born Marguerite Annie Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1928, Maya Angelou’s early years were shaped by hardship and silence. After a traumatic childhood experience, she stopped speaking for nearly five years. That silence became her crucible. In that stillness, she discovered literature: Shakespeare, Dickens, Black poets like Paul Laurence Dunbar and Langston Hughes. Their words became her sanctuary, and eventually, her liberation.

Her literary voice would later thunder through American letters in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), a memoir so candid and revolutionary it was both celebrated and banned. It was the first of seven autobiographies chronicling her life across continents, wars, revolutions, and rebirths. 

But her poetry was where her soul spoke most freely.

Angelou wrote well over 150 poems during her lifetime, though she officially published around 30 to 35 of them in collections that spanned decades. Some were delivered on national stages, such as her now-iconic inaugural poem On the Pulse of Morning, written for President Bill Clinton in 1993 – the first time in over three decades a poet had spoken at a U.S. presidential inauguration. 

Others, like Phenomenal Woman, Still I Rise, and Touched by an Angel, became battle cries for generations of women and marginalized voices who found in her verse both mirror and megaphone.

Beyond the page, Angelou’s influence sprawled. She danced with Alvin Ailey. She lived in Ghana and worked alongside Pan-African activists. She directed films, taught university courses without a formal degree, and advised presidents and world leaders. Her range was not merely artistic, it was moral, intellectual, and spiritual.

Maya Angelou passed away in 2014, but her work remains not just relevant, it’s essential. Her words still circulate in protests, on Instagram captions, at weddings and funerals. She wrote with a kind of knowing that comes only from having lived deeply and consciously.

She once said, “We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.” That line, like much of her poetry, isn’t just advice, it’s a philosophy. It’s how she lived, and how she asked us to live, too.

So, if the world ever feels too heavy, it’s time to read Maya. Not just to feel better, but to feel seen. Let’s look through the many Maya Angelou poems and books so you can get inspiration from her work. 

The complete list of Maya Angelou poems and books

Note that many of Angelou’s poems were unpublished or appeared only in performances or anthologies. The exact total of her work remains unknown or estimated.

Maya Angelou poems

1. Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water fore I Diiie
2. They Went Home
3. The Gamut
4. A Zono Man
5. To a Man
6. Late October
7. No Loser, No Weeper
8. When You Come to Me
9. Remembering
10. In a Time
11. Tears
12. The Detached
13. To a Husband
14. Accident
15. Let’s Majeste
16. After
17. The Mothering Blackness
18. On Diverse Deviations
19. Mourning Grace
20. How I Can Lie to You
21. Sounds Like Pearls
22. When I Think About Myself
23. On a Bright Day, Next Week
24. Letter to. an Aspiring Junkie
25. Miss Scarlett, Mr.Rhett and Other Latter-Day SaintsTimes-Square-Shoeshine-Composition
26. Faces
27. To a Freedom Fighter
28. Riot: 60’s
29. We Saw Beyond Our Seeming
30. Black Ode
31. No No No No
32. My Guilt
33. The Calling of Names
34. On Working White Liberals
35. Sepia Fashion Show
36. The Thirteens (Black)
37. The Thirteens (White)
38. Harlem Hopscotch
39. Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well
40. Pickin Em Up and Layin Em Down
41. Here’s to Adhering
42. On Reaching Forty
43. The Telephone
44. Passing Time
45. Now Long Ago
46. Greyday
47. Poor Girl
48. Come. And Be My Baby
49. Senses of Insecurity
50. Alone
51. Communication I
52. Communication II
53. Wonder
54. A Conceit
55. Request
56. Africa
57. America
58. For Us, Who Dare Not Dare
59. Lord, in My Heart
60. Artful Pose
61. The Couple
62. The Pusher
63. Chicken-Licken
64. I Almost Remember
65. Prisoner
66. Woman Me
67. JohnJ.
68. Southeast Arkanasia
69. Song for the Old Ones
70. Child Dead in Old Seas
71. Take Time Out
72. Elegy
73. Reverses
74. Little Girl Speakings
75. This Winter Day
76. And Still I Rise
77. A Kind of Love, Some Say
78. Country Lover
79. Remembrance
80. Where We Belong, A Duet
81. Phenomenal Woman
82. Men
83. Refusal
84. Just for a Time
85. Junkie Monkey Reel
86. The Lesson
87. California Prodigal
88. My Arkansas
89. Through the Inner City to the Suburbs
90. Lady Luncheon Club
91. Momma Welfare Roll
92. The Singer Will Not Sing
93. Willie
94. To Beat the Child Was Bad Enough
95. Woman Work
96. One More Round
97. The Traveler
98. Kin
99. The Memory
100. Ain’t That Bad?
101. Life Doesn’t Frighten Me
102. Bump d’Bump
103. On Aging
104. In Retrospect
105. Just Like Job
106. Call Letters: Mrs. V.B.
107. Thank You, Lord
108. Shaker, Why Don’t You Sing?
109. Awaking in New York
110. A Good Woman Feeling Bad
111. The Health-Food Diner
112. A Georgia Song
113. Unmeasured Tempo
114. Amoebaeanfor Daddy
115. Recovery
116. Impeccable Conception
117. Caged Bird
118. Avec Merciy Mother
119. Arrival
120. A Plagued Journey
121. Starvation
122. Contemporary Announcement
123. Prelude to a Parting
124. Martial Choreograph
125. To a Suitor
126. Insomniac
127. Weekend Glory
128. The Lie
129. Prescience
130. Family Affairs
131. Changes
132. Brief Innocence
133. The Last Decision
134. Slave Coffle
135. My Life Has Turned to Blue\
136. I Shall Not Be Moved
137. Worker’s Song
138. Human Family
139. Man Bigot
140. Old Folks Laugh
141. Is Love
142. Forgive
143. Insignificant
144. Love Letter
145. Equality
146. Coleridge Jackson
147. Why Are They Happy People?
148. Son to Mother
149. Known to Eve and Me
150. These Yet to Be United States
151. Me and My Work
152. Changing
153. Born That Way
154. Televised
155. Nothing Much
156. Glory Falls
157. London
158. Savior
159. Many ama More
160. The New House
161. Our Grandmothers
162. Preacher, Doni Send Me
163. Fightin’Was Natural
164. Loss of Love
165. Seven Women’s Blessed Assurance
166. In My Missouri
167. They Ask Why
168. When Great Trees Fall
169. On the Pulse of Morning

Maya Angelou books

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969)

Maya Angelou’s groundbreaking first memoir chronicles her early childhood and teenage years in the segregated American South. From her upbringing in Stamps, Arkansas, to her adolescence in California, Angelou explores themes of identity, trauma, racism, and self-discovery. 

The book details her struggles with abandonment, sexual abuse, and silence, but ultimately, it’s a story of resilience and the power of literature and self-expression to heal and empower. This memoir established her as a defining voice in American literature.

Gather Together in My Name (1974)

Picking up where Caged Bird leaves off, this memoir follows Maya as a young single mother trying to find her place in the world. Set in her late teens and early twenties, the book portrays a period of intense instability filled with jobs, relationships, mistakes, and growth. 

Angelou candidly recounts working as a waitress, dancer, cook, and even a brothel manager, all while navigating poverty and motherhood. It’s a raw and honest portrait of a young woman learning survival on her own terms.

Singin’ and Swingin’ and Gettin’ Merry Like Christmas (1976)

This vibrant memoir focuses on Maya’s early career as a performer. It covers her time touring with Porgy and Bess, traveling across Europe and Africa, and balancing fame with the complexities of motherhood. 

The book delves into racial dynamics, international experiences, and personal revelations, capturing a period where Maya begins to gain confidence and purpose through music, dance, and the stage.

The Heart of a Woman (1981)

In this fourth memoir, Maya transitions from performer to activist. Set in the 1950s and 60s, it follows her involvement in the civil rights movement, her relationships with leaders like Malcolm X, and her life as a mother raising her son Guy. 

The book spans time in New York, Egypt, and Ghana, reflecting both political awakening and maternal strength. Here, Angelou finds her voice not only as an artist but as a woman of influence, intellect, and conviction.

All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes (1986)

In this evocative memoir, Maya Angelou recounts her years living in Ghana during the early 1960s, a period marked by personal searching and political awakening. Drawn by the promise of Pan-African unity and the desire to connect with her ancestral roots, Maya explores what it means to be an African American in Africa. 

Through friendships, romantic relationships, and intellectual exchanges, she wrestles with identity, belonging, and displacement. It’s a deeply introspective and richly layered narrative about home: not as a place, but as a journey toward understanding who we truly are.

A Song Flung Up to Heaven (2002)

The sixth memoir in Angelou’s series begins with her return to the U.S. from Africa and unfolds during one of the most tumultuous times in American history. She recounts her personal grief following the assassinations of Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., both of whom she knew personally. 

Against a backdrop of violence and upheaval, Maya reflects on her evolving role as a writer and activist. The book closes as she begins writing I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, bringing her autobiographical journey full circle. It’s a quiet but powerful testament to resilience, artistic birth, and healing through storytelling.

Mom & Me & Mom (2013)

In this final memoir, Angelou turns her focus to her complicated but ultimately loving relationship with her mother, Vivian Baxter. Unlike earlier works that featured her mother in the margins, this book brings their bond to the forefront. 

Maya reflects on their estrangement during her early years and the reconnection that led to a deep, empowering friendship. It’s a tender and honest tribute to maternal love, forgiveness, and growth.

A legacy written in courage and grace

Maya Angelou’s work is not simply read; it’s felt in the bones, echoed in hearts, and carried into conversations across generations. Through the rhythm of her poetry and the honesty of her prose, she gave voice to the voiceless and dignity to the everyday struggles of being human.

From the quiet pain of childhood in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings to the wisdom-soaked reflections of Mom & Me & Mom, Angelou’s literary legacy is a roadmap for resilience, empathy, and radical self-love. Her poems remind us that we are not alone in our grief or our joy, and her memoirs show us that life, even in its harshest moments, is always worth writing about.

Let this blog be a starting point, not just to explore the books and poems Maya Angelou gave the world, but to sit with them, to grow through them, and to pass them on.