Reporter Tavis Smiley had a close relationship with the late poet/author Maya Angelou and he is reflecting on it in a new memoir that will also have a stage adaptation, according to the Associated Press.
Next Tuesday (Apr. 7) Smiley is releasing My Journey With Maya, a memoir that depicts the ups and downs of their two-decade friendship and the wise words and special moments that Angelou shared with him throughout the years.
“I’ve been saying for the longest time she may be the greatest renaissance woman in black America,” Smiley told the Associated Press. “But I’m really wrestling with whether or not she may be the greatest renaissance woman, period.”
For the on-stage version of the book, Smiley is teaming up with Tony Award-winning director Kenny Leon.
“I haven’t been this excited by a project in a long, long time,” Leon told the AP. “I don’t think there is another person like her in my lifetime or in the last 100 years of American artistry and literary achievement.”
Smiley and Leon are looking for a writer and say it is too early to seek cast members.