Maya Angelou

Maya AngelouBiography.comMaya Angelou was a poet and award-winning author known for her acclaimed memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and her numerous poetry and essay collections. Her real name was Marguerite Annie Johnson Angelou she was born in 1928 on April 4th. She was also a was an American author, actress, screenwriter, dancer, and civil rights activist best known for her 1969 memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which made one of the 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. Angelou published several collections of poetry, but her most famous was 1971’s collection Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Die, which was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. After her going through health issues for a number of years, she died on May 28, 2014, at her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The news of her passing spread quickly with many people taking to social media to mourn and remember Angelou.