“Everybody in the world uses words. The writer has to take these most known things and put them together in such a way that a reader says, ‘I never thought of it that way before,’” says Maya Angelou in the beginning of the trailer to Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise, the first documentary ever made about the celebrated poet. Part of the American Masters series, the film will capture Angelou’s life and art—beyond writing, her life as a dancer, actress, singer, and more—through photos, videos, and interviews with such notables as former President Bill Clinton; presidential candidate Hillary Clinton; hip hop artist Common; actress Cicely Tyson; media mogul, actress, and entrepreneur Oprah Winfrey; actress Alfre Woodard; and Angelou herself.
A literary and cultural icon, Angelou is perhaps best known for her book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and her oft-cited poem “Still I Rise,” part of which she recites in the trailer to the film.