Remembering Maya Angelou

Posted by Library Director, Curren McLane:

Author, poet laureate, singer, dancer and civil rights activist, Maya Angelou died on Wednesday night, May 27, at the age of 86. Ms. Angelou was born in St. Louis in 1927 as Marguerite Ann Johnson. She developed a full list of accomplishments in her adult life, including reciting a poem at the inauguration of President Bill Clinton, and receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama. It is hard to say what she is most noted for, but librarians and literary lovers cherish her books. Ms. Angelou wrote six autobiographies, beginning with the popular, “I know Why the Caged Bird Sings” (1969). Her writing style was vivid and almost lyrical, which makes her biographies read as literature. She was also a noted poet, most famous for her Pulitzer Prize winning volume of poetry, “Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ‘Fore I Die” (1971). You can read Ms. Angelou’s works for yourself by checking them out from the library and visiting the biography section under “Angelou”.

Sources:
www.mayaangelou.com
www.npr.org