Maya Angelou (Cyclopedia of World Authors)

Maya Angelou (AN-juh-lew) is a modern-day Renaissance woman. As a writer, she is best known for her autobiographies, particularly I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and for her collections of poetry, but she also has gained prominence through her playwriting, directing, acting, dancing, and involvement in civil rights movements. She was born Marguerite Johnson, in 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. Upon the breakup of her parents’ marriage, she was sent by her mother to Stamps, Arkansas, where she lived with her paternal grandmother, Ann Henderson. These years are chronicled in the...

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