CSMS Magazine Staff Writers
There are people you always think will never die, literally, and renowned African-American poet is one of them. But the news of her passing today quickly reminds us once more what life truly is: A journey that has to come to an end someday. In contemporary literature, Maya has along held the bar to its highest standard. For that, Maya has entered the pantheon of great poets whose arts have transcended all generations. The most famous of her masterpieces is I Rise—a poem that is religiously worshiped in public schools across the country.
Her celebrated autobiography “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” was the manuscript that catapulted her to the world stage and, with that, to the zenith of her literary career. Maya was subsequently political activist, progressive playwright, singer and actress. Â
Angelou was born on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, under the name Marguerite Annie Johnson, and was raised in Stamps, Arkansas, and San Francisco, after her parents sent her off to live with her grandmother in California when she was fresh with a white store clerk in Arkansas, the Associated Press reported.
Angelou had an impressive list of accolades: She was a three-time Grammy winner and was nominated for a Pulitzer, a Tony, and an Emmy for her role in the 1977 groundbreaking television mini-series “Roots.”
Maya Angelou will certainly be missed. She was 86.
