Wikipedia:Today's featured article/April 4, 2017
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The Heart of a Woman (1981) is the fourth of seven autobiographies by American writer Maya Angelou (pictured). She recounts events in her life between 1957 and 1962, as she travels to California, New York, Cairo and Ghana, and raises her teenage son. She becomes a published author active in the US civil rights movement, and is romantically involved with a South African freedom fighter. The book explores Angelou's theme of motherhood, and ends as she looks forward to newfound independence and freedom when her son leaves for college. Although most critics consider Angelou's first autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings more favorably, The Heart of a Woman has received positive reviews and was chosen as an Oprah's Book Club selection in 1997. The title is taken from a poem by Harlem Renaissance poet Georgia Douglas Johnson. "Faithful to the ongoing themes of survival, sense of self, and continuing education," according to critic Lyman B. Hagen, "The Heart of a Woman moves its central figures to a point of full personhood". (Full article...)
Part of the Maya Angelou autobiographies featured topic.