Angelou

Web posted on: Friday, January 01, 1999 2:03:29 PM

ATLANTA (CNN) -- When considering the accomplishments of Maya Angelou, the list of her credits is breathtaking: acclaimed poet, playwright, producer, professor; holder of 50 honorary degrees; speaker of seven languages; civil rights figure; unofficial adviser to presidents.

So it isn't surprising that Angelou has added yet another accomplishment to her resume, directing her first feature-length film. "Down in the Delta" debuted nationwide on Christmas Day, starring Alfre Woodard as a single mom with a substance abuse problem who flees the city for a summer in the Mississippi Delta.

It's the story of personal journey, a theme that Angelou holds dear. She is a woman who, at 70, has learned that the joy of life is in each step she takes.

"I was thinking about that, about the journeys in the film, journey to the roots, journey to the heart," Angelou says. "We're all on journeys."

Angelou in the director's chair

Turmoil and courage

Angelou's journey began in St. Louis. Born April 4, 1928, as Marguerite Johnson, she soon moved to Arkansas to live with her grandmother, who Angelou says was six feet tall and "spoke very softly."

"Then I went back to my mother when I was 13 and she was ready for me," Angelou says.

But turmoil followed. Angelou was raped by her mother's boyfriend. When she testified against him, he was beaten to death. Angelou has said that her "seven-year-old logic" told her that her voice killed him, so she quit talking for nearly six years.

Looking back, she says age has taught her courage.

"It's the most important of all the virtues, because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently," she says.

Time well spent

Her courage has taken her far. After marrying a South African freedom fighter, she was editor for The Arab Observer and the African Review, she was invited by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to work for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. She has also worked with presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.

And she has also found time enough to become one of the poetic voices of her time. Her book "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" took her to the best-sellers list, and President Clinton asked her to compose and read a poem for his 1993 inauguration.

She also took her creative talents to the small and big screens, writing and acting in a number of projects.

But "Down in the Delta" is her first foray into directing for the big screen. She says it's a much different experience than writing. With directing, you have "90 crew and the cast and the sets and lights and the sound."

Angelou rises alone at 5:30 in the morning and writes in her hotel room. "In the room I have Roget's thesaurus, a dictionary, a Bible, a bottle of sherry and yellow pads," she says.

Angelou is perhaps best known for her impassioned poetry readings

'Do it'

Interestingly, Angelou left the writing to someone else for "Down in the Delta": white southerner Myron Goble. She says some of the crew complained that Goble doesn't know black culture, but Angelou defended him, and plans to work with him again on an adaptation of James Baldwin's play "The Amen Corner."

Now, with another accomplishment realized, Angelou seems content with her life, and open to anything the future might bring -- including marriage.

"I will never say no," she laughs. "The man, however, has to be funny. If a sumitomo wrestler made me laugh, and entertained my appetites, I would certainly," she paused. "I wouldn't say no out of hand."

She also has simple advice for anyone who thinks they might be too old to still live their dreams.

"Do it," she says. "All the aches and pains, and the leathery legs, leathery skin, all those things not withstanding: Do it."

Correspondent Sherri Sylvester contributed to this report.

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