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The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou
Superbly told, with the poet's gift for language and observation, Angelou's autobiography of her childhood in Arkansas - a world of which most Americans are ignorant.
1184 pages, Hardcover
First published September 21, 1995
629 people are currently reading
5098 people want to read
About the author
Maya Angelou
286 books14.4k followersMaya Angelou was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees. Angelou's series of seven autobiographies focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her life up to the age of 17 and brought her international recognition and acclaim.
She became a poet and writer after a string of odd jobs during her young adulthood. These included fry cook, sex worker, nightclub performer, Porgy and Bess cast member, Southern Christian Leadership Conference coordinator, and correspondent in Egypt and Ghana during the decolonization of Africa. Angelou was also an actress, writer, director, and producer of plays, movies, and public television programs. In 1982, she was named the first Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Angelou was active in the Civil Rights Movement and worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Beginning in the 1990s, she made approximately 80 appearances a year on the lecture circuit, something she continued into her eighties. In 1993, Angelou recited her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" (1993) at the first inauguration of Bill Clinton, making her the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961.
With the publication of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelou publicly discussed aspects of her personal life. She was respected as a spokesperson for Black people and women, and her works have been considered a defense of Black culture. Her works are widely used in schools and universities worldwide, although attempts have been made to ban her books from some U.S. libraries. Angelou's most celebrated works have been labeled as autobiographical fiction, but many critics consider them to be autobiographies. She made a deliberate attempt to challenge the common structure of the autobiography by critiquing, changing, and expanding the genre. Her books center on themes that include racism, identity, family, and travel.
She became a poet and writer after a string of odd jobs during her young adulthood. These included fry cook, sex worker, nightclub performer, Porgy and Bess cast member, Southern Christian Leadership Conference coordinator, and correspondent in Egypt and Ghana during the decolonization of Africa. Angelou was also an actress, writer, director, and producer of plays, movies, and public television programs. In 1982, she was named the first Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Angelou was active in the Civil Rights Movement and worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Beginning in the 1990s, she made approximately 80 appearances a year on the lecture circuit, something she continued into her eighties. In 1993, Angelou recited her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" (1993) at the first inauguration of Bill Clinton, making her the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961.
With the publication of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelou publicly discussed aspects of her personal life. She was respected as a spokesperson for Black people and women, and her works have been considered a defense of Black culture. Her works are widely used in schools and universities worldwide, although attempts have been made to ban her books from some U.S. libraries. Angelou's most celebrated works have been labeled as autobiographical fiction, but many critics consider them to be autobiographies. She made a deliberate attempt to challenge the common structure of the autobiography by critiquing, changing, and expanding the genre. Her books center on themes that include racism, identity, family, and travel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews
August 8, 2007
I've read a lot of books and this one had more impact than almost any other. This is an amazing collection that literally changed my life (or at least my way of thinking about the world). I had previously read her best known works, but this included several pieces about her earlier life that were completely amazing. Did you know Maya Angelou was at different times homeless, a lounge singer, a pimp, a mistress, a single mother? Me neither. She's very open and honest about her triumphs and mistakes and this book gave me a much needed dose of courage to make some changes in my own life.
May 18, 2016
A Song Flung Up to Heaven is the final volume of the six in The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou. I reviewed the other five autobiographies under their own book titles, but I will review A Song Flung Up to Heaven as part of the six volume set.
A Song Flung Up to Heaven picks up Maya’s story as she is returning from Ghana to the United States to work with Malcolm X. She is plagued by the guilt of leaving her son, Guy, in Ghana, and she is almost immediately assaulted with the news of the murder of Malcom X. In this volume, Maya shares her personal life as it intersects with major historical events, including the Watts riots and the death of Martin Luther King Jr. This book was similar in style to the others. Maya’s writing is straightforward and easy, but, at the same time, poetic. We see a little less humor in this installment than the others.
What struck me over and over while I was reading all of the volumes is the amount of living Maya did in only 40 years covered by the autobiographies. Her life was truly fascinating, and she was remarkably honest in these memoirs. She never shied away from her flaws and mistakes, but she learned from them. We can, too. She shows us that the human spirit can triumph.
A Song Flung Up to Heaven picks up Maya’s story as she is returning from Ghana to the United States to work with Malcolm X. She is plagued by the guilt of leaving her son, Guy, in Ghana, and she is almost immediately assaulted with the news of the murder of Malcom X. In this volume, Maya shares her personal life as it intersects with major historical events, including the Watts riots and the death of Martin Luther King Jr. This book was similar in style to the others. Maya’s writing is straightforward and easy, but, at the same time, poetic. We see a little less humor in this installment than the others.
What struck me over and over while I was reading all of the volumes is the amount of living Maya did in only 40 years covered by the autobiographies. Her life was truly fascinating, and she was remarkably honest in these memoirs. She never shied away from her flaws and mistakes, but she learned from them. We can, too. She shows us that the human spirit can triumph.
November 21, 2019
DNF after the fourth volume. I enjoyed I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings so much that I bought this collection of most of Angelou's autobiographies. But the succeeding three volumes did not compare to the first. After having this book on my currently reading shelf for what feels like years, I'm going to be honest with myself and declare this a DNF. I'm inclined to come back to I Know Why the Caged Bird sings as some point, but I don't think I'll be reading any more of her autobiographies.
August 4, 2020
This entire collection is what made me start to read. The writing, the emotions, the hope, the journey.. She filled my confused, lost 20 year old heart with so much love and hope that it changed my life.
Anytime I doubt myself or feel like I am running out of time, I ALWAYS think about Maya. How she accomplished so much without setting limits, while against the tide. Her longing for true love, the same as I, and her expression.. She inspired me to be unequivocally me and take all experiences.
Because I have never felt this type of hope, support, and emotions in my life—ESPECIALLY not from a book, I searched and searched for more books that could touch me so. She started my love of reading as well as helping me realize and encourage soooo many other aspects about me that I would have drowned or ignored before. Thank you, Maya. ❤️
Years and books later, this collection is still my all time favorite series or book(s).
(Close second is Homegoing - Yaa Gyasi)
Anytime I doubt myself or feel like I am running out of time, I ALWAYS think about Maya. How she accomplished so much without setting limits, while against the tide. Her longing for true love, the same as I, and her expression.. She inspired me to be unequivocally me and take all experiences.
Because I have never felt this type of hope, support, and emotions in my life—ESPECIALLY not from a book, I searched and searched for more books that could touch me so. She started my love of reading as well as helping me realize and encourage soooo many other aspects about me that I would have drowned or ignored before. Thank you, Maya. ❤️
Years and books later, this collection is still my all time favorite series or book(s).
(Close second is Homegoing - Yaa Gyasi)
Want to read
March 14, 2019 $2.99 on Amazon! What a steal! Grab it while you can!!! ❤
January 17, 2019
This is one of the most impressive books I've ever read. What a life! Maya Angelou's writing was direct, beautiful and captivating. But her courage! And her total abandon when she plunged herself in the messiness of life! And her willingness to laugh at herself, to laugh at life, to express such fierce emotions while keeping an open mind, to condemn all the hatred without bitterness. What a free spirit!
And such touching description of Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Such insight of the civil rights movement.
And such touching description of Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Such insight of the civil rights movement.
December 24, 2014
Maya Angelou really is quite the woman! After hearing that she passed away, I knew I had to read her autobiographies. I read I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings years ago, but it never occurred to me to pick up her other ones. I really am sad that I didn't read them earlier.
I'm actually glad I went with her collected autobiographies, because she did so much, and I felt like her life story flowed a lot better being able to read all of her autobiographies as a collective whole.
I loved seeing her life up to when she started writing I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, and she had such an eventful life! It did get a little tedious at times, especially with All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes and A Song Flung Up To Heaven. All together, it was a definitely a marathon, and I think by the time I got to her last two books, I kind of wanted to be done with her autobiographies. They were interesting, and I don't want to take away from that at all, but I also wish I had taken a little more time with them.
It's so easy to see how she became the person that she was- she is definitely a survivor, and always landed on her own two feet, no matter what happened to her. I was quite surprised by some of things I read- like running a brothel, and traveling all over the world (and even making an effort to learn the language of every country she visited) and working for both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr...she is truly an inspiration, and I feel like we're so lucky that she shared her story with us.
She really does have a way with words, and there were times when I forgot I was reading an autobiography. There's something very poetic about the way she writes, and she has a way of feeling like she's telling you a story.
Let's Rate It: I feel so honored to have read Maya Angelou's story. I feel like I understand her world so much better after reading her autobiographies, and I really regret taking so long to read them! Reading them as one collective work was daunting, especially with her last couple autobiographies, but I also liked seeing her life as a whole, instead of in shorter stories. Her Collected Autobiographies get 4 stars.
I'm actually glad I went with her collected autobiographies, because she did so much, and I felt like her life story flowed a lot better being able to read all of her autobiographies as a collective whole.
I loved seeing her life up to when she started writing I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, and she had such an eventful life! It did get a little tedious at times, especially with All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes and A Song Flung Up To Heaven. All together, it was a definitely a marathon, and I think by the time I got to her last two books, I kind of wanted to be done with her autobiographies. They were interesting, and I don't want to take away from that at all, but I also wish I had taken a little more time with them.
It's so easy to see how she became the person that she was- she is definitely a survivor, and always landed on her own two feet, no matter what happened to her. I was quite surprised by some of things I read- like running a brothel, and traveling all over the world (and even making an effort to learn the language of every country she visited) and working for both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr...she is truly an inspiration, and I feel like we're so lucky that she shared her story with us.
She really does have a way with words, and there were times when I forgot I was reading an autobiography. There's something very poetic about the way she writes, and she has a way of feeling like she's telling you a story.
Let's Rate It: I feel so honored to have read Maya Angelou's story. I feel like I understand her world so much better after reading her autobiographies, and I really regret taking so long to read them! Reading them as one collective work was daunting, especially with her last couple autobiographies, but I also liked seeing her life as a whole, instead of in shorter stories. Her Collected Autobiographies get 4 stars.
September 1, 2014
I highly recommend this collection which contains all six of Ms. Angelou's autobiographies from 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings' to 'A Song Flung Up to Heaven'. When read like this, these six books make up chapters in her story that runs from her birth during the Depression through the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Aside from the amazing life and story of Ms. Angelou, it gives us an up close and personal view of the American Black experience during those years. The book left me hungry for more. I want to ask her, "How did you not only survive, but thrive through the terrible adversity of your life?" And "How did you evolve from the angry revolutionary of your youth to the woman full of grace and love that we all came to know?" And finally, "How do I take your wisdom into my own heart and pass it on to our youth who so desperately need it?" I will be looking for more Maya Angelou books seeking the answers to those questions.
May 13, 2019
My rating 3.5/5
This collection represents the many adventures (and lives) of Maya Angelou. Reading about her life was such a journey. I didn't always agree with her choices but she fascinates me nonetheless with her eloquent language and sharp observations. The way Maya carried herself is inspiring, and if I learned anything from her story is to have the courage to try, fail and continue to march on regardless.
Note that Mom & Me & Mom is not included in this collection.
This collection represents the many adventures (and lives) of Maya Angelou. Reading about her life was such a journey. I didn't always agree with her choices but she fascinates me nonetheless with her eloquent language and sharp observations. The way Maya carried herself is inspiring, and if I learned anything from her story is to have the courage to try, fail and continue to march on regardless.
Note that Mom & Me & Mom is not included in this collection.
September 1, 2021
Increíble. Una figura increíblemente valiente e inspiradora.
March 12, 2023
I can't believe I'm just reading this. What a delightful read. Wow.
October 22, 2023
Such powerful wise words, inspirational
September 5, 2014
I'm on page 380. Zipped through I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, almost finished with Gather Together in My Name. Maya Angelou is now only 19 and has lived more than many in a lifetime. She is a vivid writer and very readable. Such a page turner! Next up, Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' a Merry Christmas.
Update, still a page turner...almost done with the fourth book now, page 780-ish. 8/18/14
She's still in her 30's. Starting Book 5, Swing Low Sweet Chariot...she's in Africa , we'll see where she ends up. From the title, it seems this book is 'comin' for to carry her home."
The most memorable one thing about this woman is her resourcefulness and proactivism in the face of downturns. Over and over she gets up and gets going!
Finished Labor Day Weekend. Good one all the way through. My favorites were the first two, which were freshest and most vivid. But easy read and interesting from page one to the end.
Update, still a page turner...almost done with the fourth book now, page 780-ish. 8/18/14
She's still in her 30's. Starting Book 5, Swing Low Sweet Chariot...she's in Africa , we'll see where she ends up. From the title, it seems this book is 'comin' for to carry her home."
The most memorable one thing about this woman is her resourcefulness and proactivism in the face of downturns. Over and over she gets up and gets going!
Finished Labor Day Weekend. Good one all the way through. My favorites were the first two, which were freshest and most vivid. But easy read and interesting from page one to the end.
November 17, 2015
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
- I know why the caged bird sings.
Marguerite Ann Johnson's autobiography is one of the most genuine account I have come across, laying out in the open her victories and slips as she explores her identity as a Black woman and finds her place in the world, it is full of uplifting and powerful life lessons.
Reading about her life experiences has been thoroughly entertaining and thought provoking at the same time.
This remarkable woman's life story is highly recommended.
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
― Maya Angelou
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
- I know why the caged bird sings.
Marguerite Ann Johnson's autobiography is one of the most genuine account I have come across, laying out in the open her victories and slips as she explores her identity as a Black woman and finds her place in the world, it is full of uplifting and powerful life lessons.
Reading about her life experiences has been thoroughly entertaining and thought provoking at the same time.
This remarkable woman's life story is highly recommended.
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
― Maya Angelou
March 20, 2015
This is definitely a book worth reading, especially if one's interested in the history of racism in America and the civil right's movement. It was a long read, but I learned greatly from Maya Angelou's life experiences. Her writing is thought provoking. There were many lines in the book that I read several times because of the powerful message they conveyed and the elegance with which it was expressed.
The first half of the book (especially where she talks about her childhood) was truly interesting. I could not put the book down. The second half however was less absorbing for me. Overall, she writes beautifully, even about the most mundane subjects.
This is definitely the best autobiography I have read so far.
The first half of the book (especially where she talks about her childhood) was truly interesting. I could not put the book down. The second half however was less absorbing for me. Overall, she writes beautifully, even about the most mundane subjects.
This is definitely the best autobiography I have read so far.
December 16, 2008
Maya is an amazing writer! She is poetically beautiful and rich in experience. I love her blunt innocence and desire for life. She really captures her memories of childhood traumas and takes you there to where you feel compassion for both victim and perpetrator. It’s a hard read but I'm just taking it slow and really enjoying her literature. So far I have finished “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” and started “Gather in My Name”. It’s been a great history lesson for me of real segregation in the 1930's and pictures of early San Francisco.
July 16, 2014
7/16/14
RIP Ms. Maya - I will miss your wisdom.
4/17/14
I think I want to read this again. Got it on my Nook so not so bulky to carry around. Love Ms. Maya - and love reading about her life.
10/25/12
Finished "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" - will read "Heart of a Woman" next - but want to read something else in between...
9/22/12
I've read these several times before and am in the mood to read them again. This volume is actually all of them - I'm reading them one at a time - started "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" today.
RIP Ms. Maya - I will miss your wisdom.
4/17/14
I think I want to read this again. Got it on my Nook so not so bulky to carry around. Love Ms. Maya - and love reading about her life.
10/25/12
Finished "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" - will read "Heart of a Woman" next - but want to read something else in between...
9/22/12
I've read these several times before and am in the mood to read them again. This volume is actually all of them - I'm reading them one at a time - started "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" today.
February 9, 2013
Maya Angelou is a fantastic story teller and now I see why. Her engagement with life in 1950s and 60s America is an incredible journey. Her love affair with Africa and her experiences as part of the Civil Rights movement- in her engagement with Dr King and Malcolm X provide a fantastic insight into life at that time and the very real struggles that a black woman, as a lone parent with incredible self made opportunities faced.
A really uplifting read for all women.
A really uplifting read for all women.
September 22, 2015
What can be said about all the Autobiographies of Maya in one tome. It is witty, beautiful written, soul stirring and humors all at once. I had previously read Caged Bird and All God's Children, but to read them all together marvelous. The many twist and turns her life took, she was a Women Phenomenal.
July 9, 2014
I loved discovering the back story behind this woman of great wisdom. Her past becomes the bedrock upon which her wisdom was constructed. Behind every great person is a messy story that shapes who they become. Her stories give me hope!
Want to read
June 22, 20101st edition thus, signed & inscribed by author
June 15, 2014
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
― Maya Angelou
― Maya Angelou
July 13, 2014
Awesome - Read it.
March 18, 2015
Maya is an inspiration and a role model. Every female should read these books.
May 19, 2022
Angelou was one of my saviors as a kid, she was a guiding adult for me on the page, someone that tried to point the way.
Read
April 30, 2021I enjoyed reading Maya's 1st memoire. I found it wholly engulfing. The next 6 were not as exciting to me although they were very good and worth reading. The life she lead was unbelievable. If anything, her life makes me appreciate mine much more. I admire her writing and personality.
Dedicated fans and newcomers alike can follow the continually absorbing chronicle of Angelou’s life: her formative childhood in Stamps, Arkansas; the birth of her son, Guy, at the end of World War II; her adventures traveling abroad with the famed cast of Porgy and Bess; her experience living in a black expatriate “colony” in Ghana; her intense involvement with the civil rights movement, including her association with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X; and, finally, the beginning of her writing career.
The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou traces the best and worst of the American experience in an achingly personal way. Angelou has chronicled her remarkable journey and inspired people of every generation and nationality to embrace life with commitment and passion.
Dedicated fans and newcomers alike can follow the continually absorbing chronicle of Angelou’s life: her formative childhood in Stamps, Arkansas; the birth of her son, Guy, at the end of World War II; her adventures traveling abroad with the famed cast of Porgy and Bess; her experience living in a black expatriate “colony” in Ghana; her intense involvement with the civil rights movement, including her association with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X; and, finally, the beginning of her writing career.
The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou traces the best and worst of the American experience in an achingly personal way. Angelou has chronicled her remarkable journey and inspired people of every generation and nationality to embrace life with commitment and passion.
December 30, 2021
Maya Angelou’s biographies are both inspiring and humbling. Between her incredible life, astounding prose, and generosity in sharing with the world her perspective on female blackness in 20th century America—her books sometimes made me wonder how much she herself felt they were the way she described the play “The Blacks” in which she performed as the White Queen, an exercise of walking a fine line between reflection and scorn, thoughtfulness and release—they make me want to be better (more courageous, more hardworking, open my mind) while being certain I am partially impeded to do so by my own privilege, my comfortable life. Maya shows us black artistic brilliance is not an innate racial quality; it is a survival requirement.
Being swept away into Maya’s world from her journey to Stamps alone by train with her brother when they were both very little children until her 40th year was the most beautiful, heartbreaking and extraordinary thing that happened to me this year and it is an experience I recommend to the entire world.
Being swept away into Maya’s world from her journey to Stamps alone by train with her brother when they were both very little children until her 40th year was the most beautiful, heartbreaking and extraordinary thing that happened to me this year and it is an experience I recommend to the entire world.
May 13, 2023
Many people have lived amazing lives--but to be able to write about one's experiences in a fresh and powerful way that wrenches readers, makes us cry and laugh and gasp and mourn and reflect, is a true gift.
And what a life, from growing up in the segregated South, to being raped as a child and then not speaking for six years, to becoming a madam in California in the 1950s, to performing in Porgy and Bess, to being a young single mother, to living in Ghana and Honolulu and New York City, to working for Martin Luther King, Jr. and befriending Malcom X and James Baldwin, to writing poetry, plays and a PBS series on Black Americans--and there's so much more.
I'd read "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" at least twice and a few excerpts of her others--but I wanted the experience of reading all six of her memoirs in a row. By the end I found myself holding my breath at her reflection on how African American women have been able to rise in spite of it all. Angelou certainly rose--and sang about it.
And what a life, from growing up in the segregated South, to being raped as a child and then not speaking for six years, to becoming a madam in California in the 1950s, to performing in Porgy and Bess, to being a young single mother, to living in Ghana and Honolulu and New York City, to working for Martin Luther King, Jr. and befriending Malcom X and James Baldwin, to writing poetry, plays and a PBS series on Black Americans--and there's so much more.
I'd read "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" at least twice and a few excerpts of her others--but I wanted the experience of reading all six of her memoirs in a row. By the end I found myself holding my breath at her reflection on how African American women have been able to rise in spite of it all. Angelou certainly rose--and sang about it.
July 4, 2020
I have always been moved by the words of Maya Angelou and wanted to read more of her work. I'd read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings many years ago, but so long ago that my perspective on life has really shifted since then. The Collected Autobiographies is rich and nourishing and I am overwhelmed my Maya Angelou's ability to express the deepest part of the human spirit. In addition, during this time of the Black Lives Matter movement, it was good to learn more about the African American experience. It is sad that the reality is that little has changed. Maya Angelou was deeply involved in the black politics of the 60's and 70's, with Martin Luther King, James Baldwin, and Malcolm X. She married an African revolutionary and lived for a few years in Ghana. She was also and dancer, actor, and poet. I celebrate her full life and wisdom.
November 27, 2018
From BBC Radio 4:
It's the late 1950's and Maya has moved to L.A. She receives an unexpected visit from singing legend Billie Holiday. Billie came back a further four times to spend her evenings with Maya and Maya's son Guy, shortly before she died.
Maya - Narrator - Adjoa Andoh
Maya - Pippa Bennett-Warner
Billie Holiday - Nina Sosanya
Guy - Will Romain
Wilkie - Steve Toussaint
Dramatised by Janice Okoh
Produced and directed by Pauline Harris
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000...
It's the late 1950's and Maya has moved to L.A. She receives an unexpected visit from singing legend Billie Holiday. Billie came back a further four times to spend her evenings with Maya and Maya's son Guy, shortly before she died.
Maya - Narrator - Adjoa Andoh
Maya - Pippa Bennett-Warner
Billie Holiday - Nina Sosanya
Guy - Will Romain
Wilkie - Steve Toussaint
Dramatised by Janice Okoh
Produced and directed by Pauline Harris
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews