Where Can I Find Audio Recordings Of Maya Angelou Poems?

I rely on certain institutions for these types of Poets. For Angelou research I look to the Library of Congress’ amazing collection of recorded work as well as special collections at universities around the country that have digitized audio and video recordings of her public talks as well as interviews. The Internet Archive is an amazing resource that allows me to search through radio broadcasts and events where poets have read their work. Often I can find great quality recordings that I would have otherwise been unable to access.

I download Maya Angelou poetry readings from Spotify and Apple Music on spoken-word albums and from Audible as the narrator of her own poetry and selected readings from many of her poetry collections, including ‘And Still I Rise’. CDs and vinyl recordings of poetry readings often show up at secondhand stores and thrift shops around town, including the worn tape of a cassette of poetry readings I recently scored. There are also recordings of Maya Angelou poetry readings on PBS, BBC and on the Poetry Foundation website, often as short clips. Check the metadata or the publisher for the recording on the Internet site where you found it to be sure it’s a good quality recording and not a poorly recorded recording that’s been uploaded to the site.

For classroom use or academic research, look for the recordings made available by universities and used for teaching. These recordings should be posted on a stable website. Also, librarians and archivists are really nice people and can be emailed to obtain copies of recordings licensed for use, or even through interlibrary loan.

I still get a thrill off listening to Maya Angelou’s recorded readings of her own poetry. If you can’t find any of these on YouTube (search for ‘Maya Angelou reading Still I Rise’ or ‘Maya Angelou reading On the Pulse of Morning’), then The Poetry Foundation often uploads videos of readings by poets as well as shorter audio clips of individual poems that could be useful for listening to in class or as individual exercises.

Higher-quality recordings can be found on streaming services and audiobook platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. Sometimes spoken-word albums and compilations are released that include readings from Maya Angelou, and audiobooks of her collections are available for purchase on Audible or through other major audiobook sellers. Many of these titles are available through libraries, and are even included in the catalogs that are mirrored through OverDrive/Libby with a public library card. I listened to an audiobook copy of And Still I Rise on my commute, and it was a lovely experience – the poems felt like they were meant to be listened to while driving through morning traffic.

Also note that the Library of Congress, as well as the Internet Archive, contain a wealth of historical recordings of Maya Angelou, including interviews and radio appearances. C-SPAN has also recorded Angelou’s public readings of her poetry, including her reading of “On the Pulse of Morning” at the inauguration of President William Jefferson Clinton in 1993. As always, be aware of copyright restrictions, though: some of these recordings have been uploaded by users and may be removed from the site at any time. It’s always a good idea to bookmark the official version of the recording on the Library of Congress or your local library’s web page.

This is a very fast way to access Maya Angelou’s readings on YouTube. Official channels, event clips and user created videos abound featuring her reciting her famous poems such as “Still I Rise” and “On the Pulse of Morning”. You can find cleaner audio on streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music as well as on Audible where full readings as well as compilations of her work are available. Your local library’s digital app (OverDrive/Libby) is another favorite of mine – search for her name and borrow her audiobooks for free.

When I need to access Maya Angelou’s archives, like interviews or old radio recitations, I head to the Library of Congress’ wonderful site and Internet Archive. C-SPAN has great coverage of public events that Maya Angelou participated in, including some inauguration archives. Search tip: If you want to find Maya Angelou reading a particular poem, put “Maya Angelou reading” and the name of the poem in quotes in the search box. Some of this material is copyrighted and therefore is locked behind a pay wall. I include university sites and reputable publishers who will often have licensed material. Enjoy the listening. Her voice really brings her poems to life.