Ma vie a viré au bleu

by Maya Angelou, Santiago Artozqui (Translator)

Paru en 1983, Shaker, Why Don't You Sing? est un clin d'œil de Maya Angelou à son célèbre roman autobiographique, mais aussi le plus bluesy de ses recueils de poésie.
Lorsqu'elle fait paraître, en 1983, ce quatrième recueil, originalement intitulé Shaker, Why Don't You Sing?, Maya Angelou a signé des nouvelles, des pièces, des chansons, des scénarios, des documentaires... Elle a déjà publié les quatre premiers volets de son autobiographie.

Pourtant, ce recueil ne joue pas les accords d'une success-story. En 1981, Maya Angelou et son mari, Paul du Feu, ont divorcé. Elle est retournée vivre seule dans le sud des États-Unis, où elle a accepté la chaire d'études américaines à l'université Wake Forest, en Caroline du Nord. Elle a ainsi renoué avec les fantômes d'un passé esclavagiste, ségrégationniste, et observe la cruauté à laquelle les siens demeurent confrontés.

" À cinquante-cinq ans, Maya Angelou doute, alors elle se tourne vers le blues. L'amour déçu ou l'espoir de jours meilleurs sont des thèmes récurrents dans l'univers du blues. Elle sait qu'à travers cette contre-culture elle pourra transcender son histoire personnelle et en faire une expérience dans laquelle ses lecteurs se reconnaîtront. "

Extrait de la postface

Traduit de l'anglais (États-Unis) et postfacé par Santiago Artozqui

96 pages, Paperback

Published August 21, 2025

About the author

Maya Angelou was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees. Angelou's series of seven autobiographies focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her life up to the age of 17 and brought her international recognition and acclaim.
She became a poet and writer after a string of odd jobs during her young adulthood. These included fry cook, sex worker, nightclub performer, Porgy and Bess cast member, Southern Christian Leadership Conference coordinator, and correspondent in Egypt and Ghana during the decolonization of Africa. Angelou was also an actress, writer, director, and producer of plays, movies, and public television programs. In 1982, she was named the first Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Angelou was active in the Civil Rights Movement and worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Beginning in the 1990s, she made approximately 80 appearances a year on the lecture circuit, something she continued into her eighties. In 1993, Angelou recited her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" (1993) at the first inauguration of Bill Clinton, making her the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961.
With the publication of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelou publicly discussed aspects of her personal life. She was respected as a spokesperson for Black people and women, and her works have been considered a defense of Black culture. Her works are widely used in schools and universities worldwide, although attempts have been made to ban her books from some U.S. libraries. Angelou's most celebrated works have been labeled as autobiographical fiction, but many critics consider them to be autobiographies. She made a deliberate attempt to challenge the common structure of the autobiography by critiquing, changing, and expanding the genre. Her books center on themes that include racism, identity, family, and travel.

Reviews

[DKR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sterke aangrijpende gedichten, en het originele Engels met de vertaling in het Frans maakt van elk gedicht in dit bundel een dubbele ontdekking.