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US Consulate General Launches Maya Angelou's books in Tamil- 15-Mar-2024
Chennai: Bookended by Black History Month and Women's History Month, the U.S. Consulate General Chennai on Friday released the world's first authorized Tamil-language version of two books by celebrated American author and civil rights activist Maya Angelou.
Maya Angelou (1928–2014), born Marguerite Annie Johnson, was an American poet, singer, memoirist, and actor. She received several awards and more than 50 honorary degrees.
In 2000, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts and in 2010 received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States, from then President Barack Obama for her lifelong advocacy for inclusivity, women's empowerment, and human rights.
The U.S. Consulate General in Chennai coordinated with the publishing house Kalachuvadu to release two of Angelou's most important literary works in Tamil, a release here said. These were the 1969 landmark memoir 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings', the first non-fiction bestseller by an African-American woman, and 'And Still I Rise', a collection of 32 poems including the famous 'Still I Rise' and 'Phenomenal Woman', the release said.
The book 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings' has been translated by Bernard Chandra, while R Sivakumar translated 'And Still I Rise'.
At the ceremony held at the American Center auditorium, the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of South and Central Asia Office of Press and Public Diplomacy Deputy Director Anne Seshadri said that this was the result of years of hard work by the U.S Consulate General Chennai's Public Diplomacy section in collaboration with the publishers.
"Although Maya Angelou's works have been translated into multiple languages, there was no authorized translation of her works in Tamil. We hope her message of tolerance, justice, and equality will resonate with Tamil-speaking audiences in South India and around the world,” Seshadri said.
Former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi and writer-activist Salma were the chief guests at the event.
U.S. Embassy New Delhi Minister-Counselor for Public Diplomacy Gloria Berbena, U.S. Consulate General Chennai's Public Engagement Officer Scott Hartmann, U.S. Consulate General Chennai's spokesperson Samantha Jackson, and Kannan Sundaram, Publisher, Kalachuvadu Publications were among those who participated.
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