The Renaissance Woman

Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou is one of the most renowned and influential voices of the 21st century. Renowned as the global Renaissance woman, Angelou is a celebrated poet, novelist, educator, producer, actress, filmmaker and civil rights activist. We remember this great personality on her sudden departure from this world on 28th May, 2014.

Born on April 4th 1928, Maya Angelou was born in Missouri, USA  as Marguerite Annie Johnson
As a child of traditional African-American culture, she experienced the brutality of racial discrimination during her early life
Angelou went to study dance and drama at San Francisco's Labor School but later dropped out
During her eventful life Angelou took the profession of sex worker, cook, opera performer, journalist, actress and producer of several popular film and TV programmes

Angelou met Malcom X in Ghana and helped him to build X's Organization of African American Unity
In 1996 she directed her first feature film “Down in the Delta”
Angelou's Georgia, Georgia, produced by a Swedish film company, was the first screenplay written by a black woman
Angelou wrote a total of seven autobiographies featuring her life and experience in the African-American community, and racism 

In 1954 and 1955 Angelou toured Europe with her opera Porgy and Bess
She danced with Alvin Ailey in television shows and launched her debut music album in 1957 named Calypso Lady
In 1960 Angelou moved to Cairo, Egypt and served as editor of the English Language Weekly the Arab Observer
In the next year Angelou went to Ghana and taught Music and drama at the University of Ghana

Angelou wrote five collections of essays, which writer Hilton Als called her "wisdom books" and "homilies strung together with autobiographical texts"
Hailed as the Black Woman's Poet Laureate; her volume Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie (1971) was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize
she was invited by President Bill Clinton to recite her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" during his inauguration in 1993
Angelou has received 50 honourary degrees for her versatile contributions in art and literature
Maya Angelou, one of the greatest personalities of our time, died on 28th May, 2014 due to old age complications