Maya Angelou. Maya angelou was born in Saint louis,missouri and was given name maya by her older brother who callde her "my" or "mine".when she was young she was raped by her mother's boyfriend and was mute five years .After her parents divorsed she and her brother were sent to Arkansas to be raised by their patential grandmother.In 1940 she and her brother moved to San Franciskoto be with their mother ,who had …showed first 75 words of 493 total…

…showed last 75 words of 493 total…Professor of american Studies at Wake forest university,Winston-Salem,north Carolina. Angelou's many honors included an American academy of Achivement Award in 1990 and a horatio alger Award in 1992; she also received more than fifty honorary degrees .Angelou's work reached its largest single audience in January 1993 when she recited her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at the inaguaration of President Wiliam Clinton; she was the first poet toreceive such an invitation since Robert Frost in 1961.