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Maya Angelou The voice of contemporary literature

Maya Angelou

Biography Maya Angelou is hailed as one of the great voices of contemporary literature and as a remarkable Renaissance woman. Being a poet, educator, historian, best-selling author, actress, playwright, civil-rights activist, producer and director, Dr. Angelou continues to travel the world making appearances, spreading her legendary wisdom.

A mesmerizing vision of grace, swaying and stirring when she moves, Dr. Angelou captivates her audiences lyrically with vigor, fire and perception. She has the unique ability to shatter the opaque prisms of race and class between reader and subject throughout her books of poetry and her autobiographies.

Traumatized by abuse and its aftermath, Dr. Angelou was mute from the time she was seven and a half until she was nearly 13. In time, she found her voice and, in 1970, her autobiographical work, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, created an international sensation.

A dedicated civil rights activist, Dr. Angelou became a close and dear friend of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X.

Dr. Angelou has authored eleven other best-selling books including The Heart of a Woman and her current best-seller A Song Flung Up to Heaven.

In 1981, Dr. Angelou was appointed to a lifetime position as the first Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University.

In January 1993, she became only the second poet in U.S. history to have the honor of writing and reciting original work at the presidential inauguration.

Dr. Angelou is fluent in English, French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, and West African Fanti.

Family

  • Son, Guy Raphael Johnson, poet

Publishers

  • Bantam Books
    Crown Books for Young Readers
    Knopf Books for Young Readers
    Modern Library
    Random House
    Stewart, Tabori & Chang
    Virago Press

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