Also American

Person · 1928–2014

Maya Angelou

The poet and memoirist whose "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" gave voice to Black womanhood and survival.

A beloved voice of [[black-literature]].

Singer, dancer, activist, and writer, Maya Angelou turned her own hard life into landmark autobiography and poetry. She read "On the Pulse of Morning" at a presidential inauguration and became one of the most beloved literary voices in America.

On the timeline

  1. 1969
    Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"

    Angelou's memoir becomes a defining work of American letters.

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