Maya Angelou was an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist. She was born Marguerite Annie Johnson on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. She wrote 7 autobiographies, including I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), and died on May 28, 2014, at age 86.
What Is Maya Angelou Known For?
Maya Angelou is recognized for her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, her poetry, and her civil rights work. Her career covered 5 fields: poetry, memoir, screenwriting, theater, and music. Examples include the poem “On the Pulse of Morning,” the screenplay Georgia, Georgia (1972), and her calypso performances in San Francisco.
When and Where Was Maya Angelou Born?
Maya Angelou was born on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. The table below lists key biographical facts about her.
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Marguerite Annie Johnson |
| Birth date | April 4, 1928 |
| Birthplace | St. Louis, Missouri |
| Parents | Bailey Johnson and Vivian Baxter |
| Brother | Bailey Johnson Jr. |
| Son | Guy Johnson, born in 1945 |
| Death date | May 28, 2014 |
| Death place | Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Age at death | 86 |
What Was Maya Angelou’s Childhood Like?
Maya Angelou spent much of her childhood in Stamps, Arkansas, with her paternal grandmother, Annie Henderson. She was 3 when her parents divorced and she and her brother were sent to Stamps. She later moved to California as a teenager and became a cable car conductor in San Francisco.
Why Did Maya Angelou Stop Speaking?
Maya Angelou stopped speaking for about 5 years after being assaulted in childhood, according to her memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. A teacher named Bertha Flowers helped her speak again. Flowers introduced her to authors such as Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare.
How Did Maya Angelou Start Her Career?
Maya Angelou started her career as a dancer, singer, and actress in the 1950s. Her early career followed 5 steps:
- Performed calypso songs at the Purple Onion in San Francisco.
- Toured Europe with the opera Porgy and Bess from 1954 to 1955.
- Joined the Harlem Writers Guild in New York in the late 1950s.
- Worked as an editor at the Arab Observer in Cairo, Egypt, in 1961.
- Worked at the University of Ghana in Accra from 1962.
Where Did the Name Maya Angelou Come From?
Maya Angelou adopted the name as a stage name in the 1950s. Maya came from a nickname her brother used for her. Angelou was a variation of Angelos, the surname of her first husband, Tosh Angelos.
What Role Did Maya Angelou Play in the Civil Rights Movement?
Maya Angelou worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X during the 1960s. She served as a coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. She returned from Ghana in 1964 to help Malcolm X build the Organization of Afro-American Unity.
Two assassinations shaped this period of her life:
- Malcolm X was assassinated in February 1965.
- Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, her 40th birthday.
How Did Maya Angelou Become a Published Author?
Robert Loomis, an editor at Random House, persuaded Maya Angelou to write an autobiography. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was published in 1969. The book received a National Book Award nomination in 1970.
What Books Did Maya Angelou Write?
Maya Angelou wrote 7 autobiographies and several poetry collections. The table below lists the autobiographies by publication year and the period each covers.
| Title | Publication Year | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings | 1969 | Childhood to age 17 |
| Gather Together in My Name | 1974 | Early adulthood |
| Singin’ and Swingin’ and Gettin’ Merry Like Christmas | 1976 | Early performing career |
| The Heart of a Woman | 1981 | Harlem years and activism |
| All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes | 1986 | Years in Ghana |
| A Song Flung Up to Heaven | 2002 | Return to the United States |
| Mom & Me & Mom | 2013 | Relationship with her mother |
Her poetry collections include Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ‘fore I Diiie (1971) and And Still I Rise (1978).
What Awards Did Maya Angelou Receive?
Maya Angelou received more than 50 honorary degrees and several national honors. Her major recognitions include:
- A National Book Award nomination in 1970
- A Pulitzer Prize nomination for poetry in 1972
- 3 Grammy Awards for spoken word albums, won in 1993, 1995, and 2002
- The National Medal of Arts in 2000
- The Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011
She read “On the Pulse of Morning” at the inauguration of President Bill Clinton on January 20, 1993. Robert Frost was the only earlier poet to read at a presidential inauguration, in 1961.
Where Did Maya Angelou Teach?
Maya Angelou taught at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She held a lifetime appointment as Reynolds Professor of American Studies from 1982, according to Wake Forest University.
How and When Did Maya Angelou Die?
Maya Angelou died on May 28, 2014, at her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She was 86. Her family announced her death.
What Is Maya Angelou’s Legacy?
Maya Angelou’s legacy includes 7 autobiographies, multiple poetry collections, and decades of civil rights work. Her memoirs are taught in literature courses in the United States. The U.S. Mint issued a quarter featuring her in 2022 as part of the American Women Quarters Program.
People Also Ask
When was Maya Angelou born?
Maya Angelou was born on April 4, 1928.
How old was Maya Angelou when she died?
Maya Angelou was 86 when she died on May 28, 2014.
What was Maya Angelou’s real name?
Maya Angelou’s birth name was Marguerite Annie Johnson.
How many autobiographies did Maya Angelou write?
Maya Angelou wrote 7 autobiographies between 1969 and 2013.
Who helped Maya Angelou speak again?
Bertha Flowers, a teacher in Stamps, Arkansas, helped Maya Angelou speak again.