Maya Angelou

"Angelou" redirects here. For the English folk rock band, see Angelou (band).

Maya Angelou (/ˈændʒəloʊ/ ( listen);^[1][2]born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American poet, singer, memoirist, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and was 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.^[3] Angelou is best known for her series of seven autobiographies, which 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.
Maya Angelou

Angelou reciting her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at President Bill Clinton's inauguration, January 20, 1993

BornMarguerite Annie Johnson
April 4, 1928
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.DiedMay 28, 2014(aged 86)
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S.Occupation

Writer

 

poet

 

civil rights activist

Period1951–2014Subject

Memoir

 

poetry

Notable works

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

"On the Pulse of Morning"

Spouses

Tosh Angelos
(m. 1951; div. 1954)

Paul du Feu
(m. 1974; div. 1983)

Children1Websitewww.mayaangelou.com
She became a poet and writer after a series of occupations as a young adult, including fry cook, sex worker, nightclub dancer and performer, cast member of the opera Porgy and Bess, coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and journalist in Egypt and Ghana during the decolonization of Africa. She was an actor, 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. She was active in the Civil Rights Movement and worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Beginning in the 1990s, she made around 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 President Bill Clinton's inauguration, 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 such as racism, identity, family and travel.