Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou (1928–2014) was an American memoirist, poet, performer, and civil rights activist whose writing explored identity, racism, resilience, and human dignity. Born Marguerite Annie Johnson on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, she spent much of her childhood in Stamps, Arkansas. Before becoming internationally known as an author, she worked as a singer, dancer, actress, and journalist. Maya Angelou’s official biography

Her groundbreaking memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), recounts her childhood and adolescence, including her experiences of racism and trauma. It became the first of seven autobiographical books. Angelou also published poetry and essays and participated in the civil rights movement. In 1993, she recited “On the Pulse of Morning” at President Bill Clinton’s inauguration, bringing her poetry to a worldwide audience. She died on May 28, 2014, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, at age 86. Academy of American Poets