Maya Angelou
Biography
Marguerite Annie Johnson Angelou (April 4, 1928 to May 28, 2014), known as Maya Angelou, was an American author, actress, screenwriter, dancer, poet and civil rights activist best known for her 1969 memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which made literary history as the first nonfiction best-seller by an African-American woman. Angelou received several honors throughout her career, including two NAACP Image Awards in the outstanding literary work (nonfiction) category, in 2005 and 2009.
Early life
Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. After her parents' marriage ended, she and her brother, Bailey (who gave her the name "Maya"), were sent to rural Stamps, Arkansas, to live with their grandmother, who owned a general store. Although her grandmother helped her develop pride and self-confidence, Angelou was devastated when she was raped at the age of eight by her mother's boyfriend while on a visit to St. Louis. After she testified against the man, several of her uncles beat him to death. Believing that she had caused the man's death by speaking his name, Angelou refused to speak for approximately five years. She attended public schools in Arkansas and later California. While still in high school she became the first ever African American female streetcar conductor in San Francisco, California. She gave birth to a son at age sixteen. In 1950 she married Tosh Angelos, a Greek sailor, but the marriage lasted only a few years.
Later Angelou studied dance and drama and went on to a career in theater. She appeared in Porgy and Bess, which gave performances in twenty-two countries. She also acted in several plays on and off Broadway, including Cabaret for Freedom, which she wrote with Godfrey Cambridge. During the early 1960s Angelou lived in Cairo, Egypt, where she was the associate editor of The Arab Observer. During this time she also contributed articles to The Ghanaian Times and was featured on the Ghanaian Broadcasting Corporation programming in Accra, Ghana. During the mid-1960s she became assistant administrator of the School of Music and Drama at the University of Ghana. She was the feature editor of the African Review in Accra from 1964 to 1966. After returning to the United States civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) requested she serve as northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Career
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1970), the first in a series of Angelou's autobiographical (telling the story of her own life) works, was a huge success. It describes Angelou's life up to age sixteen, providing a child's point of view about the confusing world of adults. The book concludes with Angelou having regained her self-esteem and caring for her newborn son. In addition to being a sharp account of an African American girl's coming of age, this work offers insights into the social and political climate of the 1930s.
Her next autobiographical work, Gather Together in My Name (1974), covers the period immediately after the birth of her son Guy and describes her struggle to care for him as a single parent. Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas (1976) describes Angelou's experiences on the stage and concludes with her return from the international tour of Porgy and Bess. The Heart of A Woman (1981) shows the mature Angelou becoming more comfortable with her creativity and her success. All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes (1986) recalls her four-year stay in Ghana. Angelou wrote about other subjects as well, including a children's book entitled Kofi and His Magic (1996).
