(born 1928) Born Marguerite Johnson in segregated Arkansas, Maya Angelou is best known for her autobiographical novels, such as I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), her poetry which she read at President Clinton’s inaugural celebration in 1993, and her civil rights activism. A northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, appointed to the Bicentennial Commission by President Ford, and by Carter to the Observance of International Women’s Year, Angelou is now arguably the most visible American poet. Her work deals with the intersection of race and gender, highlighting the impact of segregation and racism on African American communities and gender relations within them. I Know Why recounted the experience of being raped as a young girl, while her best-known poetry, And Still I Rise and Phenomenal Woman (1978), has, as the titles suggest, celebrated women and perseverance.