Maya Angelou to Speak at FAMU

Florida A&M University (FAMU) will welcome one of the most renowned and influential voices of today, Maya Angelou, Wednesday, January 26, 2011 in the Alfred Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center and Teaching Gymnasium at 7:30 p.m.

Angelou will perform as part of the 2010-2011 FAMU Lyceum Series.

“We are so excited to have Ms. Angelou to be a part of our lyceum series,” said FAMU Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Cynthia Hughes Harris. “She has been hailed as a global renaissance woman. I am confident that our faculty, staff, students, alumni and the Tallahassee community will be graced with wisdom that will leave them speechless.”

Angelou is a celebrated poet, memoirist, novelist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker and civil rights activist.

A trailblazer in film and television, Angelou wrote the screenplay and composed the score for the 1972 film Georgia, Georgia. Her script, the first by an African- American woman ever to be filmed, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

She continues to appear on television and in films including the landmark television adaptation of Alex Haley’s Roots (1977) and John Singleton’s Poetic Justice (1993).

In 1996, she directed her first feature film, Down in the Delta. In 2008, she composed poetry for and narrated the award-winning documentary The Black Candle, directed by M.K. Asante.

Angelou has served on two presidential committees, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Arts in 2000, the Lincoln Medal in 2008, and has received three Grammy Awards. President Bill Clinton requested that she compose a poem to read at his inauguration in 1993.

Angelou has received more than 30 honorary degrees and is Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University.

The FAMU Lyceum Series has been a part of the FAMU tradition since the university’s early beginnings.

Throughout the history of the series, FAMU has enriched campus life and shared with the community the artists, performers and lecturers of the day.

Enhancing FAMU students’ exposure to culture is essential to the selection of performers. The campus is also committed to exposing the Tallahassee community to a variety of cultural experiences through the series.

Ticket prices are $50, $35, $25 and $10. For more information, contact the Office of Communications at (850) 599-3413.