Maya Angelou.

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”

American poet, memoirist and civil rights activist. Best known for her 1969 autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, she wrote seven autobiographies and many collections of poetry, and read “On the Pulse of Morning” at the 1993 US presidential inauguration.

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Based in: Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Lived: 1928 – 2014
Known for: Memoir & poetry
On Motivation Stock: 10 quotes · 3 books

In their words

“Nothing will work unless you do.”
02 / 10Action

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The one to read first

The first autobiography

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Maya Angelou

Memoir · 1969

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

The first autobiography

The first of Angelou’s seven autobiographies, following her childhood and teenage years in the American South and California, and her journey from trauma and silence back to her own voice.

Three big ideas

A childhood in the SouthMuch of the story is set in Stamps, Arkansas, where she was raised by her grandmother.
Honest about painAngelou writes openly about racism, trauma and identity.
Finding her voiceAfter years of silence, literature and a mentor helped her speak again.

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