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Best Known For
Maya Angelou is a poet and prize-winning memoirist. She is the author of the critically acclaimed I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
Videos see all videos
Maya Angelou - On the Pulse of Morning
Listen to the poem Maya Angelou read at President Bill Clinton’s inauguration on January 20, 1993.
Maya Angelou - Mini Biography
A short biography of author and poet Maya Angelou who wrote the bestselling autobiography, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings."
Alice Walker - The Mysterious Wonder of Life
Author Alice Walker began writing early in life. When an injury to her left eye afforded her the chance to go to College, Walker began to work towards her goal of becoming a professional writer.
Alice Walker - Pursuing Civil Rights
While at Spelman College, Alice Walker turned down a scholarship to study abroad in Paris in order to go to Mississippi to pursue civil rights equality.
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Play NowMaya Angelou. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 06:30, May 22, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/maya-angelou-9185388.
Maya Angelou. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/maya-angelou-9185388 [Accessed 22 May 2013].
"Maya Angelou." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 22 2013, 06:30 http://www.biography.com/people/maya-angelou-9185388.
"Maya Angelou," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/maya-angelou-9185388 [accessed May 22, 2013].
"Maya Angelou," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/maya-angelou-9185388 (accessed May 22, 2013).
Maya Angelou [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 22] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/maya-angelou-9185388.
Maya Angelou, http://www.biography.com/people/maya-angelou-9185388 (last visited May 22, 2013).
Maya Angelou. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/maya-angelou-9185388. Accessed May 22, 2013.
Later Successes
Angelou has written several autobiographies, including All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes (1986) and A Song Flung Up to Heaven (2002), but the most popular of which has consistently been I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In 1995, Angelou was recognized for remaining on The New York Times' paperback nonfiction best-seller list for two years - the longest-running record in the chart's history.
She has also published several collections of poetry, including Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Die (1971). This collection was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. One of her most famous works was the poem "On the Pulse of Morning," which she wrote especially for the inauguration of President Bill Clinton in January 1993. Angelou won a Grammy Award for the audio version of the poem.
Seeking new creative challenges, Angelou made her directorial debut in 1998 with Down in the Delta, which starred Alfre Woodard. Angelou has also written a number of inspirational works, from the essay collection Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now (1994) to her advice for young women in Letter to My Daughter (2008). Interested in health, Angelou published a cookbook, Great Food, All Day Long (2010).
Personal Life
Angelou is good friends with television personality Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey has organized several birthday celebrations for Angelou, including a week-long cruise for her 70th birthday in 1998.
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