Maya Angelou

Born April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri, Renowned poet, educator, historian, best-selling author, actress, playwright, producer, and director http://www.vi...

"I was a mute from the time I was seven and a half until I was almost 13. I didn't speak. I had voice, but I refused to use it." As a child, Maya Angelou was traumatized by abuse. For five years, she was silent, but in time, she found her voice, and that voice has been heard around the world. A single mother at age 16, she embarked on a remarkable career as an actress and entertainer, as a journalist, educator and civil rights activist, and finally, as one of the world's most eminent authors and poets. Her autobiographical work, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, created an international sensation when it was first published in 1970. Her books and poems made her one of the world's favorite authors and one of America's best-loved public speakers. President Clinton requested that she compose a poem for his first inaugural in 1993; she read that poem, "On the Pulse of the Morning," to an audience of millions on live television. A close friend and associate of both Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King as well as Malcolm X, Maya Angelou shared her hard-won wisdom — and the vivid memories of her remarkable life — through her books, poems, films and through her interviews with the American Academy of Achievement.

San Francisco has only has three statues honoring nonfictional women

(05-28) 11:43 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- From attending schools and collecting streetcar fares as a teenager to her friendship with the Rev. Cecil Williams as an adult, the late author and poet Maya Angelou had a number of San Francisco connections. Ms. Angelou, who died Wednesday at age 86 at her home in Winston-Salem, N.C., was born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis and spent her first years in Arkansas. At age 7, she was raped by her mother's boyfriend. He was beaten to death after she testified against him, and Ms. Angelou didn't speak for years. "I was 7 1/2, and my 7 1/2 year-old logic deduced that my voice had killed him," Ms. Angelou said in 1999. "So I stopped speaking for almost six years.

Before you read 'em all, start with these.

A complete list of Maya Angelou's vast body of work, including the 10 most essential books and poems in her repertoire, from "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" to "And Still I Rise."

Maya Angelou was a civil rights activist, poet and award-winning author known for her acclaimed 1969 memoir, 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings', and her numerous poetry and essay collections.

2. She was the first black woman to conduct a cable car in San Francisco.