One of the most striking photos for me in Eighty Moods of Maya & Other Photo-Poetic Moments from the Eugene B. Redmond Collection was a snapshot of Angelou with best-selling author Pearl Cleage sharing an intimate moment of laughter.
The two were engaged in the best kind of laugh n mouths wide open, heads thrown back and even grabbing each other with delight. Though it is a still image, you can somehow hear their whoop as they holler with joy.
In another candid shot, Angelou and Nick Ashford (of Ashford and Simpson fame) are on the dance floor. They both have those “I know I’m getting down” expressions with their arms up and bodies open to the beat.
The book successfully displayed the “Moods of Maya,” but even more profound is how the collection illustrates Angelou’s ability to enhance the moods of everyone else. Everyone seems to smile bigger, laugh harder, even dance better when she is around.
The book depicts the legendary poet, author, activist and singer through the years in images that were part of an exhibit at the 80th birthday celebration party thrown by the one and only Oprah Winfrey.
Redmond had already taken steps to create the idea rumbling around in his head when Oprah’s people called him for ideas about the party, so they collaborated for a visual masterpiece at Mar-a-Lago (Donald Trump’s Palm Beach resort).
“It connected the entrance so anybody going in or out would have to see it,” Redmond said of the display. “Regardless of which end you started from, you would get a history of Maya.”
A picture of her with the late Coretta Scott King (her best friend) served as the centerpiece. The exhibit was a resounding success and the book that had been conceptualized, then transformed into an exhibit, returned to its original form for publication. Eighty Moods of Maya has now become the most recent of four photocatologues created as a part of Redmond’s Drumvoices Revue series.
“The exciting thing for me is that as you look at his collection, you just see her transforming over the years,” said Dr. Howard Rambsy, editor of Eighty Moods of Maya.
The photos begin in the ‘70s and create a personal timeline of Angelou’s experiences, from starving artist to cultural icon. It was no easy task considering that Rambsy and Redmond had to whittle thousands of photos down to 80, with a few original poems sprinkled in.
“I’ve known Maya Angelou since before she was rich and famous,” Redmond said. “I knew her back when she threw one of her parties and if you brought some people, then you brought some chicken to make sure that everybody could eat.”
These days she is feeding 250 with her annual Thanksgiving dinner parties. And while he won’t be at the dinner this year, Redmond has been alongside Angelou for nearly 40 years, capturing Angela Davis, Susan Taylor, Quincy Jones, Toni Morrison, Cicely Tyson and other larger-than-life individuals featured in the book.
“He is so close, at their homes n in really relaxed settings,” Rambsy said as we thumbed through the publication. “Like that photo of Oprah, you don’t see her like that.”
Oprah throws a huge bash for Angelou every five years. For her 70th Birthday party n upon Angelou’s request n everyone received a booklet of contact information for everyone else so guests could stay in contact.
“That’s one of the wonderful things about her,” Redmond said. “The giving aspect and the bringing together so many walks of life.”
The book doesn’t end with Maya’s 80 moods. Redmond and Rambsy offer readers an array of snapshots of other influential people, places and things, with more than 400 photos in all.
“This book pays homage to Maya Angelou and all of the marchers,” Redmond said. “The sojourners n those who carried the words and the deeds that I have encountered through my natural eyes and through the eyes of my camera over many, many decades.”
To purchase a copy of Eighty Moods of Maya & Other Photo-Poetic Moments from the Eugene B. Redmond Collection, contact the Eugene B. Redmond Writers Club at PO Box 6165, East St. Louis IL, 62202 or call (618) 650-3991.
