Maya Angelou, best known for her first book I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, was a renowned writer and poet beginning in the second half of the 20th century till her death in 2014. Following the publication of her first book—a best-selling autobiography that launched her career at age 41—Angelou went on to write six more autobiographies along with countless other books of essays and poetry. Her numerous public appearances—notably the reading of her poem On The Pulse Of Morning at the first inauguration of President Clinton in 1993—led many to think Angelou was the nation’s Poet Laureate even though she never officially held the position.

Angelou wrote about her life, her family, racism, identity, and travel. Her sagacity and compassion are often quoted, with such wisdom as: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Maya Angelou, born Marguerite Annie Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1928, was no stranger to difficult times. At age three, her parents divorced. She and her older brother went to live with their grandmother for the next four years, during which time their parents did not visit. Following this long separation, the children returned to live with their mother in 1935. A few months later, their mother’s boyfriend raped Angelou. She confided in her brother, who informed the entire family. The rapist was found guilty and sentenced to one day in jail. Four days after his release, he was found murdered. Angelou’s uncle was suspected in the killing. The children returned to live with their grandmother and Angelou did not speak for the next five years. “I thought, my voice killed him; I killed that man, because I told his name ... I would never speak again, because my voice would kill anyone ... .”

During her silent years, Angelou read numerous authors’ works that shaped her life forever, including William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, and Georgia Douglas Johnson, as well as civil rights activists James Weldon Johnson, Frances Harper, and Anne Spencer.

Maya Angelou went on to be the first Black female cable car conductor in San Francisco, a Calypso music singer and dancer, and a civil rights activist—raising funds in support of Martin Luther King Jr.’s civil rights movement. She traveled the world as a writer and radio broadcaster. King’s assassination devastated Angelou. She fell into a deep depression and turned her attention again to books. This time though, she wrote about her pain.

Angelou produced plays, composed music, and wrote screenplays for TV and film, becoming the first black woman to have a screenplay produced. Among her many awards are: Women in Film Crystal Award, Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album, NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, Glamour Award for The Poet, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.