Maya Angelou

When she was seventeen years old, she became a mother to a boy, who she named Clyde. Clyde changed his name later to Guy Johnson, and like his mother, he is also a successful writer.

In 1951, she got married Tosh Angelos, a Greek sailor, living with him for almost three years.

For a brief period of time in the 1960s, Maya was in love with Vusumzi Make, a South African freedom fighter, and lived with him in Cairo.

Maya Angelou was born as Marguerite Annie Johnson on April 4, 1928 to Bailey, a dietician and Vivian Johnson, a nurse, in St. Louis, Missouri. Marguerite had an older brother, Bailey Jr., and the two children lived with their parents till the former was three years old.

When their parents separated, the siblings were sent to the town of Stamps, Arkansas, where they lived for a while with Annie Henderson, their paternal grandmother. Though it was the time of the economic crisis known as 'Great Depression', Annie was quite well off, being the owner of a grocery store.

In the mid-1930s, their father, Bailey took them back to St. Louis, and left them with their mother, Vivian. Here, Maya was sexually abused by her mother's new partner, Freeman.

The young girl confided in her brother, and Bailey Jr. told the rest of the family. Freeman was arrested for only a day, after which he was released. However, he was found murdered after a few days, and though the culprit was never found, it was speculated that the children's uncles took revenge.

Following this incident, Maya blamed herself for the murder, and lost her voice for almost five years. The two young children returned to Stamps, to their grandmother's house.

In the early 1950s, in San Francisco, she began learning dance, and got acquainted to famous performers of the time Ruth Beckford and Alvin Ailey. For some time, Maya showcased her talent as a dancer at various organizations, teaming up with Alvin, and naming their pair, 'Al and Rita'.

She soon travelled to New York City, with the aim of training under African dance instructor, Pearl Primus. She trained for a year, and then came back to San Francisco.

In 1954, the artiste danced in various nightclubs of the city to earn a living, including the famous 'Purple Onion'. Till then she was known as Marguerite or Rita, but she soon changed her name to Maya Angelou, because it suited her personality of a calypso dancer.

From 1954-55, the calypso performer went on a Europe tour, accompanying the crew of the musical, 'Porgy and Bess'. During her stay there, she made it a point to pick up the language of each place that she went to.

In 1951, Angelou married Greek electrician, former sailor, and aspiring musician Tosh Angelos, despite the condemnation of interracial relationships at the time and the disapproval of her mother.

This famous writer is known for her autobiography ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’ published in 1969. The book uses Angelou’s life to touch upon the subjects of sexual exploitation, identity crisis, and literacy of a woman in a male-dominated society. The book was chosen as one of the contenders in 1970 for the ‘National Book Award’ in the United States.