Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928. She spent her childhood in California, Arkansas, and St. Louis, and lived with her paternal grandmother, Annie Henderson, for most of her childhood years. At age 8, she was raped by her mother¹s boyfriend in St.Louis; this led to years of muteness for Maya, which she finally overcame through help from a caring neighbor, and a great love for literature. At age 16, …showed first 75 words of 322 total…

…showed last 75 words of 322 total…the Caged Bird Sings and All God¹s Children Need Travelling Shoes, and fill a total of five best-selling volumes. In 1993, Angelou read her poem, "On the Pulse of Morning," at the inauguration of President Clinton; this was one of the high points of her career, and again brought her into the public spotlight. Currently, she is a professor of American History at Wake Forest University, North Carolina, and makes regular lecture and speaking tours.