Maya Angelou was a revered poet and author from America. Here are a few interesting piece of trivia from the life of this winner of residential Medal of Freedom and the National Medal of Arts.
Angelou suffered sexual abuse at 8 and the incident left a lasting impression on her. So much so that she turned mute after her offender was found dead, following his release from jail in only one day. Speaking about the five years of her life in her autobiography she mentioned, “I thought, my voice killed him; I killed that man, because I told his name. And then I thought I would never speak again, because my voice would kill anyone.”
Despite her editor's disapproval she collaborated with Hallmark greetings. Citing her reason she said, “If I’m America’s poet, or one of them, then I want to be in people’s hands…people who would never buy a book.”
In the Oprah Winfrey show Angelou revealed that she worked as a streetcar conductor in San Francisco. She also added that she was 16 and absolutely loved uniforms at the time and was the first black to hold the position in the city.
The author loved to binge watch Law & Order and was a great fan of country music. Commenting on the breakup of Brooks and Dunn she said, “I’ve been seriously affected by the breakup of Brooks & Dunn. They broke up after 20 years and I’ve been seriously offended by that!”
Here is a collection of inspirational quotes by one of the greatest American poets of all time, Maya Angelou.