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Author Wed May 28 2014
Maya Angelou, Poet and Author, Dies at Age 86
Poet and author Maya Angelou died at the age of 86 today, May 28th, in North Carolina. Angelou's work has been a guiding light for many poets, authors, artists and musicians.
She has published multiple poetry collections, plays, and several autobiographies most notably I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1963). She was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, a Tony Award and won three Grammys for spoken word albums. Angelou was the first woman and African American to read at a Presidential inauguration, for President Bill Clinton's first term in 1993.
The outpouring of sympathy is hitting the internet, in tweets from Chicago rapper and musician Common and musician Wynton Marsalis.
Locally, Chicago's Poetry Foundation celebrates the life of Angelou on their blog.
And Jet magazine, founded in Chicago in 1951, celebrates the Many Sides of Maya Angelou.
Her loss will be mourned the world over. Yet, through her words, Angelou lives on. "The River sings and sings on."