Maya angelou, 1928, was born in St. Louis, Missouri, USA on April 4th. Black American writers, poets, playwrights, editors, actors, directors and teachers. Angelo grew up in poverty in a slum, and once worked as a cook, a tram conductor, a waitress and a dancer. In the following decades, she became a successful singer, actress, playwright and director, and was widely involved in the fields of drama, film and music. She was also an active human rights writer and an extraordinary woman. Angelo is an outstanding representative of contemporary African American poetess. Her poetry creation has continued from the 1970s to the present. So far, she has published more than a dozen poems and won many awards. Her poems represent a distinct nationalist stand, "black power" (fighting for freedom and equality for blacks) and the awakening of black women. She is the first African-American female screenwriter in Hollywood, and has served in the Carter and Ford governments.