• Maya Angelou is an American poet, actress, author, and activist.

  Angelou wrote a poem especially for the late Michael Jackson, which was read by Queen Latifah, at his memorial service on July 7, 2009.

• 1. Born: April 4, 1928
  2. Birthplace: St. Louis, Missouri
  3. Literary Genre: Poetry, Nonfiction, Fiction
  4. Awards: 2000 Presidential Medal of Arts, 3 Grammy Awards, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award nominations, over 30 honorary degrees
  5. Mentor to Oprah Winfrey
  6. TMZ claimed Angelou was rushed to the hospital on October 3, 2009 http://www.nbcmiami.com/entertainment/celebrity/NATL-Author-Maya-Angelou-Taken-to-Hospital-Report-63465587.html

• Career

  Maya Angelou's first autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, garnered her a National Book Award nomination. In it, she recounts being sexually abused by her mother's boyfriend, who later dies after spending a day in prison. The incident left Angelou mute for five years.

  She eventually spoke again, later performing in Porgy and Bess and other off-Broadway shows in the 1950s. She then worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

  In 1971, her first book of poetry, Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Diiie, was published. The book got a Pulitzer Prize nomination, and Angelou's subsequent writings have earned her numerous awards and honors in her lifetime.

  She continues to write and tour as a lecturer.

• Notable Written Works

  • 1969 - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
  • 1971 - Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Diiie
  • 1978 - And I Still Rise

• Notable Recorded Works

  • 1993 - On The Pulse of Morning
  • 1995 - Phenomenal Woman
  • 2002 - A Song Flung Up to Heaven

Categories