Why do we love Maya? Anyone who has read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings does not need a primer of Marguerite Johnson's early years. For everyone else, she was born in St. Louis and raised in rural Arkansas by her maternal grandmother after her parents divorced. She would occasionally visit her mother in the city and during one of those visits, when she was 8, she was raped by a friend of her mother's. When she told her beloved brother (who called her Maya in preference to "my sister") what had happened, the man who raped her wound up dead. Fearing her words of his deeds had killed him, she stopped speaking for years. It wasn't until someone told her that to truly appreciate poetry, she should speak it aloud that she found her voice. She was an unwed mother at 16, and in the course of doing odd jobs to support herself and her son, she launched a career of unparalleled creativity in an unlikely place—a strip club. From the strip club, she went on to a successful stage career. Moving to New York, she continued to expand her horizons, developing her writing, singing and dancing, producing, directing, and performing in Off-Broadway theatre. She soon expanded into the political and civil rights arena, while continuing her creative endeavors. She married and moved to Egypt, where she became a journalist, then to Ghana, where she took over university administration. Publishing many books along the way, including volumes of poetry, several autobiographies, and collections of reflective inspirational essays, Maya made her voice heard in every corner of the globe. She undertook television and film, the politics of the world, and the contours of the human heart. She is a six-foot-tall poet, historian, author, actress, playwright, civil-rights activist, producer, and director. Phenomenal woman, that's her. Biography: Born - April 4, 1928 St. Louis, Missouri Achievements: She has published ten best-selling books, including I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes, and Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now. Nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize for her works of poetry, "Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Die" (1971) and "And Still I Rise" (1976). Recipient of over 30 Honorary Degrees - Including: Smith College, Columbia University, Spelman College, Boston College, Howard University, Tufts University, University of Southern California, Skidmore College, American Film Institute, and Wake Forest University. Was the Northern Coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, appointed by the request of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 1959-60. Associated Editor of the Arab Observer, Cairo, Egypt (English language news weekly) 1961-62. Assistant Administrator and teacher, School of Music & Drama, University of Ghana, 1963-66. Feature Editor of African Review, Accra, Ghana, 1964-66. Writer-in-Residence, University of Kansas in Lawrence, 1970. Her screenplay Georgia, Georgia was the first by a black woman to be filmed, in 1972. Tony Award Nomination for her performance in "Look Away" 1973 Distinguished Visiting Professor - Wake Forest University, 1974, Wichita State University, 1974, California State University of Sacramento, 1974. Board of Trustees/American Film Institute 1975. Rockefeller Foundation Scholar in Italy (Scholar-in-residence at the Bellagio Study & Conference Center 1975. Ladies' Home Journal Award ("Woman of the Year in Communication") 1976. Nominated for an Emmy Award in made-for-television movie "Roots" 1977. Appointed member of American Revolution Bicentennial Council by President Gerald Ford, 1975-76. Nominated for an Emmy Award for her acting in Roots in 1977. Served on Jimmy Carter's Presidential Commission for International Women's Year, 1978-79. Appointed the first Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, N.C., a lifetime appointment since 1981. Ladies' Home Journal "Top 100 Most Influential Women" 1983. The Matrix Award - Field of Books from Women in Communication, Inc. 1983. Recipient of the Langston Hughes Award presented at the City College of New York 1991. Distinguished Woman of North Carolina 1992. Essence Woman of the Year 1992. Horatio Alger Award 1992. Woman in Film Award 1992. Arkansas Black Hall of Fame 1993 At the request of President Clinton, she wrote and delivered the poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at his 1993 presidential inauguration. Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album 1994. Spingarn Award NAACP 1994. Lifetime Membership, N.A.A.C.P., Honeywell Corporation, Minneapolis, MN 1996. Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Los Angeles & Martin Luther King King, Jr. Legacy Association National Award 1996. National Conference of Christians & Jews, Distinguished Merit Citation 1997. W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Expert-in-Residence Program 1997. North Carolina Woman of the Year Award, N.C. Black Publishers Association 1997. Black Caucus of American Library Association, Cultural Keepers Award 1997. Humanitarian Contribution Award, Boston, MA 1997 . American Airlines Audience, Gold Plaque Choice Award, Down in the Delta from Chicago International Film Festival 1998. Sheila Award, Tubman African American Museum, Macon, GA 1999. Special Olympics World Games, Speaker, Raleigh, NC 1999. Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature 1999. Named one of the top 100 best writers of the 20th century by Writer's Digest 1999. In 1996, the Honorable Kweisi Mfume, Maryland Congressman read a Tribute to Maya Angelou into the United States of America, Congressional Record, 104th Congress, House of Representatives. Maya speaks five languages: English, French, Spanish, Italian, and West African Fanti. She is on the board of the American Film Institute and is one of the few female members of the Director's Guild. She has written and produced several prize winning documentaries, including "Afro-Americans in the Arts," a PBS special for which she received the Golden Eagle Award. She was the first black and female streetcar conductor in San Francisco. In her own words -- On the magic of a woman: Phenomenal Woman Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size But when I start to tell them, They think I'm telling lies. I say, It's in the reach of my arms The span of my hips, The stride of my step, The curl of my lips. I'm a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That's me. I walk into a room Just as cool as you please, And to a man, The fellows stand or Fall down on their knees. Then they swarm around me, A hive of honey bees. I say, It's the fire in my eyes, And the flash of my teeth, The swing in my waist, And the joy in my feet. I'm a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That's me. Men themselves have wondered What they see in me. They try so much But they can't touch My inner mystery. When I try to show them They say they still can't see. I say, It's in the arch of my back, The sun of my smile, The ride of my breasts, The grace of my style. I'm a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That's me. Now you understand Just why my head's not bowed. I don't shout or jump about Or have to talk real loud. When you see me passing It ought to make you proud. I say, It's in the click of my heels, The bend of my hair, the palm of my hand, The need of my care, 'Cause I'm a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That's me.   March 23   •   March 25 Home