Maya Angelou | Biography, Books, Poems, Born, Arts, Culture & Facts

Where did Maya Angelou grow up?

Maya Angelou was born Margaret Annie Johnson on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. Her closest family and friend was her brother Bailey. She moved with her grandmother to Stamps, Arkansas when Maya was three years old.

Maya and her four-year-old brother traveled to Arkansas alone by train. While living with her grandmother, Maya’s uncle taught her to read. Maya was a smart girl who loved to read. Her favorite things in her world were books and the stories they told.

Maya Angelou Overview:

Biography of Maya Angelou:

How did Maya Angelou get the name Maya?

When her Maya was a baby, her older brother Bailey called her “My Sister”. But she ended up feeling like a “Maya sister”. Eventually, he started calling her “Maya” and that nickname stuck with her. She received the surname “Angelo” from her first husband.

Maya is Hurt

When Maya was seven years old, she moved back to St. Louis to live with her mother. Her mother’s boyfriend severely hurt Maya while she lived there. Her boyfriend was shot dead shortly after she told her mother about it. Her Maya, she believed her own voice caused the man’s death. She felt so sick that she could not speak for the next five years.

Early Career of Maya Angelou

The Maya continued to move around the country. After she graduated from high school in California, she worked a variety of jobs, including hairstylist, waitress, cable car attendant, and dancer. She Maya was a talented dancer, singer and actress. She became very famous for her acting, and she even toured Europe as part of the cast of the opera Porgy and Bess.

Civil Rights Activist

During the 1960s, Maya worked as a civil rights activist. She initially worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and became the Northern Coordinator of his organization, SCLC. She then worked for Malcolm X, but was devastated when he was murdered. Throughout her career, she continued to advocate for the rights of African Americans and women.

Becoming a Famous Writer

Maya had many interests and careers, but her true love was writing. She has always worked as a writer. She initially thought of herself as a playwright and poet, but changed her mind when she attended her dinner party in 1968. At her party Maya told some stories of her childhood. Some of her party encouraged her to write her own story.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

In 1969 Maya published her first autobiography entitled I Know Why Caged Birds Sing. The book tells the story of her life up to the age of 17. In this book, Maya chronicles the many struggles she experienced while growing up as an African-American woman in her mid-twentieth century. She also shows how she overcomes these problems through her characters, books and words.

I Know Why the Cagged Bird Sings was a huge hit and was on the New York Times paperback bestseller list for two years. This made Maya an international star and allowed her to write full time.

Death of Maya Angelou

Maya continued writing until his death on May 28, 2014 at the age of 86.

Interesting Facts about Maya Angelou

I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings became the first non-fiction bestseller by an African-American woman.

She had her son Guy Johnson when she was 17.

In 1973, she was nominated for a Tony Award for her role in her play Look Away.

She was a full-time professor at Wake Forest University.

She read the poem “On the Heart of the Morning” at President Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1993.