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Maya Angelou

Born

in St. Louis, Missouri, The United States

April 04, 1928

Died

May 28, 2014

Website

Twitter

Genre

Biographies & Memoirs, Poetry

Influences

Robert Burns ...more

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Maya Angelou was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees. Angelou's series of seven autobiographies focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her life up to the age of 17 and brought her international recognition and acclaim.
She became a poet and writer after a string of odd jobs during her young adulthood. These included fry cook, sex worker, nightclub performer, Porgy and Bess cast member, Southern Christian Leadership Maya Angelou was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees. Angelou's series of seven autobiographies focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her life up to the age of 17 and brought her international recognition and acclaim.
She became a poet and writer after a string of odd jobs during her young adulthood. These included fry cook, sex worker, nightclub performer, Porgy and Bess cast member, Southern Christian Leadership Conference coordinator, and correspondent in Egypt and Ghana during the decolonization of Africa. Angelou was also an actress, writer, director, and producer of plays, movies, and public television programs. In 1982, she was named the first Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Angelou was active in the Civil Rights Movement and worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Beginning in the 1990s, she made approximately 80 appearances a year on the lecture circuit, something she continued into her eighties. In 1993, Angelou recited her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" (1993) at the first inauguration of Bill Clinton, making her the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961.
With the publication of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelou publicly discussed aspects of her personal life. She was respected as a spokesperson for Black people and women, and her works have been considered a defense of Black culture. Her works are widely used in schools and universities worldwide, although attempts have been made to ban her books from some U.S. libraries. Angelou's most celebrated works have been labeled as autobiographical fiction, but many critics consider them to be autobiographies. She made a deliberate attempt to challenge the common structure of the autobiography by critiquing, changing, and expanding the genre. Her books center on themes that include racism, identity, family, and travel.
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Maya Angelou’s books

Average rating: 4.28 · 774,236 ratings · 34,425 reviews · 293 distinct works ‧ Similar authors

	I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou's Autobiography, #1) 4.30 avg rating — 566,835 ratings — published 1969 — 49 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Letter to My Daughter 4.09 avg rating — 33,800 ratings — published 1987 — 64 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mom & Me & Mom 4.22 avg rating — 26,547 ratings — published 2013 — 41 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Heart of a Woman 4.23 avg rating — 24,615 ratings — published 1981 — 77 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Gather Together in My Name 4.31 avg rating — 17,967 ratings — published 1974 — 69 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Complete Collected Poems 4.44 avg rating — 13,825 ratings — published 1994 — 29 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	And Still I Rise 4.39 avg rating — 10,527 ratings — published 1978 — 39 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now 4.30 avg rating — 10,734 ratings — published 1993 — 45 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas (Maya Angelou's Autobiography, #3) 4.25 avg rating — 9,487 ratings — published 1976 — 45 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes 4.28 avg rating — 7,921 ratings — published 1986 — 49 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Maya Angelou…

Series by Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou's Autobiography (7 books)
by

Maya Angelou

4.29 avg rating — 657,821 ratings

Maya's World (5 books)
by

Maya Angelou,

Lizzy Rockwell (Illustrations)

4.03 avg rating — 149 ratings

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Polls

December 2015 New School Classics Group Read

1908, Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, 320 pages

24 votes, 18.3%

1972, Watership Down by Richard Adams, 481 pages

17 votes, 13.0%

1969, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, 304 pages

15 votes, 11.5%

1920, This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald, 288 pages

13 votes, 9.9%

1966, The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, 360 pages

11 votes, 8.4%

1940, The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene, 222 pages

7 votes, 5.3%

1987, Beloved by Toni Morrison, 324 pages

6 votes, 4.6%

1963, The Collector by John Fowles, 283 pages

6 votes, 4.6%

1974, Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt, 144 pages

6 votes, 4.6%

1950, A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute, 359 pages

6 votes, 4.6%

1982, The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa, 544 pages

5 votes, 3.8%

1995, The Reader by Bernhard Schlink, 216 pages

4 votes, 3.1%

1935, BUtterfield 8 by John O'Hara, 256 pages

4 votes, 3.1%

1988, A Far Cry from Kensington by Muriel Spark, 192 pages

3 votes, 2.3%

1986, Why Read the Classics? by Italo Calvino, 288 pages

2 votes, 1.5%

1937, Christ in Concrete by Pietro Di Donato, 256 pages

1 vote, 0.8%

1974, The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier, 267 pages

1 vote, 0.8%

131 total votes

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Maya Angelou’s Followers (14,272)

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