Angelou, Maya
Angelou, Maya ( 1928 – ),African-American autobiographer and poet, born in St Louis, Missouri. Rooted in a rich folk tradition of rural black culture, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings ( 1970 ), the most famous of her five volumes of autobiography, charts her harrowing childhood in Arkansas, her segregation in Southern schools, and the beginning of her enduring relationship to literature. The other volumes, Gather Together in My Name ( 1974 ), Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry like Christmas ( 1976 ), The Heart of a Woman ( 1981 ), and All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes ( 1986 ), record her flamboyant career as a singer and dancer, her years in the Harlem Writers' Guild, and her role within the civil rights movement. An exuberant and technically assured poet with a commitment to the politics of race and gender, Angelou's works of poetry include Just Give Me a Cool Drink of...
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