Maya Angelou, author, poet, historian, songwriter, playwright, dance, stage and screen producer, director, performer, singer, and civil rights activist, was born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri April 4, 1928. She grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and Stamps, Arkansas. Ms. Angelou is best know for her autobiographical books: All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes, The Heart of a Woman, Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas, and Gather Together in My Name. She was nominated for the National Book Award in 1969 for I know Why the Caged Bird Sings and the Pulitzer prize in 1971 for Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie.
In the 60s, she was the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference at the request of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. From 1961 to 1962, she was associate editor of The Arab Observer in Cairo, Egypt and feature editor of the African Review in Accra, Ghana. Maya Angelou returned to the U.S. in 1974. Jimmy Carter ppointed her to the Commission for International Woman of the Year.In North Carolina, she accepted a lifetime appointment in 1981 as Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem.
Ms. Maya Angelou was the first black woman director in Hollywood. She has written, produced, directed, and starred in producitons for stage, film, and television. Currently, Maya Angelou lectures throughout the United States and abroad.
