Angelou, Maya, << AN juh loh, MY uh >> (1928-2014), was an American writer who drew from the African American storytelling tradition. She wove humor, wisdom, and folk sayings into her writing. Her works celebrate womanhood, the human spirit, and the will to overcome hardship. Angelou was also a performer and theater director.
Angelou was best known for her series of autobiographical writings. The first and most praised book in the series is I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1970). It tells about the author’s childhood in the segregated rural South and her transition to urban life. Angelou continued to record her life in Gather Together in My Name (1974). She followed it with Singin’ and Swingin’ and Getting Merry Like Christmas (1976). Other books in the series include The Heart of a Woman (1981), All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes (1986), A Song Flung Up to Heaven (2002), and Mom & Me & Mom (2013).
Angelou’s poetry is compiled in The Complete Poetry (published in 2015, after her death). Several of her essays are collected in Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now (1993). Other collections of essays are Even the Stars Look Lonesome (1997) and Letter to My Daughter (2008).
Angelou was born on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis. She spent much of her early life in Stamps, Arkansas. Her given name was Marguerite Johnson. She adopted the name Maya Angelou in 1953. Angelou was awarded the Spingarn Medal in 1994 for her achievement in literature. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the country’s highest civilian honors, in 2011. Angelou died on May 28, 2014.
