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Remembering Maya Angelou: Her Life and Accomplishments The American poet, author and civil rights activist died May 28, 2014. Early life
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Remembering Maya Angelou: Her Life and Accomplishments The American poet, author and civil rights activist died May 28, 2014.
Early life Angelou was born Marguerite Ann Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri. Angelou attended high school in San Francisco, and studied dance and drama. At the age of 14, she dropped out of school and became the city's first African-American, female street car conductor. She later graduated and gave birth to her son, Guy, soon after.
Life abroad In 1954 and 1955, Angelou toured Europe with the opera production Porgy and Bess. In 1960, Angelou moved to Cairo, Egypt, to become the editor of an English-language weekly newspaper. The following year, she moved to Ghana and taught at the University of Ghana's School of Music and Drama. Angelou read and studied voraciously, mastering several languages, including French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic and the West African language Fanti.
'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings' Angelou's most famous work described her early life in Long Beach, St. Louis and Stamps, Arkansas. In one scene in the book, Angelou describes her rape by her mother's boyfriend at the age of 7. The man was murdered by Angelou's uncles. Angelou felt responsible for the death, and she was mute for five years. In all, Angelou produced more than 30 best-selling works of fiction and non-fiction.
Honours and awards In 2000, Angelou received the Presidential Medal of Arts and, in 2008, the Lincoln Medal. In 2010, President Obama awarded Angelou with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Angelou has also won three Grammy Awards for her spoken-word albums