Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Poetry of Maya Angelou/archive1


 * The following is an archived discussion of a featured article nomination. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the article's talk page or in Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates. No further edits should be made to this page.

The article was promoted by GrahamColm 09:03, 19 March 2014 (UTC) [//en.wikipedia.org/?diff=600280137].

Poetry of Maya Angelou

 * Nominator(s): Christine (Figureskatingfan) (talk) 16:39, 23 January 2014 (UTC)

This article is about the poetry of writer Maya Angelou. It's an underrepresented topic in the project and has been very well researched. I look forward to helpful feedback and comments, and hope you enjoy the process and learn a lot from it. Thanks in advance. Christine (Figureskatingfan) (talk) 16:39, 23 January 2014 (UTC)


 * Note: This is a WikiCup nomination. The following nominators are WikiCup participants: Figureskatingfan. To the nominator: if you do not intend to submit this article at the WikiCup, feel free to remove this notice. UcuchaBot (talk) 00:01, 24 January 2014 (UTC)

Source review - spotchecks not done
 * "perhaps to capitalize on her popularity following her reading of her most famous poem" - source?
 * I've always considered this statement unnecessary to be cited, since it's self-evident and one of those things that I think "not likely to be challenged", but I can see someone unfamiliar with the topic disagreeing with me. Therefore, I've removed the part about the reason Random House published the collection and moved the statement, which is now about her recitation, to the next paragraph.


 * FN3: which Angelou? There aren't any in Works cited
 * Caged Bird; fixed, thanks for the catch.


 * Be consistent in whether you provide publisher/location for periodicals
 * I've only used the location once in my refs, for The Guardian (London), because its location isn't readily apparent like it is for every other one. I can remove it, though, if you like.


 * Use endashes not emdashes for ranges
 * Should be all fixed now.


 * FN54: this uses retrieval date instead of page number, but there doesn't seem to be a URL?
 * Oops, got it now, thanks.


 * FN59: date formatting. Nikkimaria (talk) 18:25, 2 February 2014 (UTC)
 * And again.

I've addressed all the issues raised by Nikki. Thanks for catching my silly errors. Christine (Figureskatingfan) (talk) 21:05, 7 February 2014 (UTC)

Comments by ColonelHenry
This is a very-well prepared FAC nomination. Per 1A: After reading it through either 9 or 10 times, I didn't find anything wrong in formatting or writing. The writing is solid and of high-quality. Per 1B: The article provides a comprehensive overview of her poetic oeuvre, it's themes, her career and way of writing, and links to her prolific works. Per 1C: It is well-researched, and the references reflect the sufficient array of the extant scholarship and academic attention to Angelou's work. Per 1D and 1E: The coverage is neutral, reflects all major viewpoints of her work adequately, and there is no indication of any article instability. Per Criteria 4: (which reflects the satisfaction of 1 and 2 mostly), this article covers the subject with adequate and apposite detail in a compact and accessible form within the expectations of WP:SUMMARY.

Per 2A and 2B: The lede adequately addresses the topics covered in the article per MOS and other guidelines, and the article's table of contents is entirely appropriate and reflect an efficient organisation of the body. Per 2C: The article consistently employs APA style citations and with short footnotes.

IMAGE CHECK (Per Criteria 3):
 * File:Angeloupoem.jpg - federal government work product, therefore public domain. GOOD.
 * File:Bill Clinton taking the oath of office, 1993.jpg - federal government work product, therefore public domain. GOOD.
 * File:LangstonHughes.jpg - Library of Congress collection, therefore public domain. GOOD.
 * File:Martin Luther King Jr NYWTS.jpg - donated to library of congress, therefore public domain. GOOD.

As for the other media, i.e., quoteboxes featuring the poems: It is likely that Angelou's works are still under copyright, however, the use here of one quote from an attributed book, a brief excerpts from the short lyric poems "Still I Rise" (which constitutes less than 20% of the poem) and "Human Family" (which constitutes less than 10% of the poem) is entirely and concisely illustrative and used as exemplars in an examination of her works and themes, properly attributed, and with a minimal amount of material, in compliance with fair use doctrine and Wikipedia's non-free content policy as I am familiar with it in Title 17 USC, and at WP:NFC, WP:QUOTE, and WP:LYRICS.

I am entirely glad to support this article's promotion to Featured Article status.--ColonelHenry (talk) 02:24, 24 February 2014 (UTC)

Comments by Victoriaearle
Only a few comments here. I know how hard it is to write about poetic themes, so good job!
 * Thanks!


 * Lead
 * "She became a poet after a series of jobs occupations" > jobs occupations seems odd.
 * Double-speak, thanks for the catch, can't believe I didn't catch it before, yadda yadda.


 * Background
 * "Despite considering herself a playwright and poet when her editor Robert Loomis challenged her to write Caged Bird, which brought her international recognition and acclaim, she has been best known for her seven autobiographies.[8][9][10] She went on to publish seven autobiographies." > some repetition here
 * You're right, of course; removed second sentence.


 * The writing process (which is fascinating!) uses the subjunctive "she would" and so on, which is jarring with the tense shift in the next section
 * Fixed, thanks.


 * General themes
 * "Blundell, in her review of Angelou's third volume And Still I Rise (1978) in Library Journal, finds Angelou's poems similar to speech patterns and songs the most effective." > maybe "poems which mimic speech patterns and songs"? Or maybe reflect speech and music?
 * Went with the first choice.


 * Critical response
 * "Despite these reviews, many of Angelou's readers identify her as a poet first and an autobiographer second." > this has now been said a few times, maybe consolidate?
 * Um, no, it's only been said once before, in the lead. Am I missing anything?
 * No, I think I lost my concentration at the end! Victoria (tk) 00:36, 6 March 2014 (UTC)

That's all! Oh, I've made a few tweaks along the way. Feel free to undo anything you disagree with. Victoria (tk) 15:49, 3 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the tweaks, and for your suggestions. I've completed everything except for the last one. Christine (Figureskatingfan) (talk) 22:46, 3 March 2014 (UTC)
 * You're welcome! Victoria (tk) 00:36, 6 March 2014 (UTC)

Support - Victoria (tk) 00:36, 6 March 2014 (UTC)

Comments by Flyer22
Like the Maya Angelou article, this article is very well written. And it seems that every possible problem with the article, all minor, has been addressed by the above reviewers and Christine (Figureskatingfan). The only criticism I have is that I don't think that it's necessary to link Maya Angelou again, or include the full name, after the lead. Sure, WP:Overlinking considers such an instance an exception (when linked once after the lead at first occurrence, which is what this article does), but I just can't see it as needed in this case.

Either way, this article has my support for WP:Featured article status. Flyer22 (talk) 19:59, 18 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Fly, this gets into my personal opinion--that since the lead is a summary of the article, it should stand alone from the rest of the article. That means that linking in the article is separate from links in the lead.  Again, that's my opinion, and nothing I'm insistent must happen, so if this article passing to FA depends upon it, I'm willing to change it.  But thanks for the support; it's much appreciated. Christine (Figureskatingfan) (talk) 23:50, 18 March 2014 (UTC)

Graham Colm (talk) 08:59, 19 March 2014 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this page.