Maya Angelou's Death

Overview

Maya Angelou was an award-winning American author, poet and actress best known for her series of autobiographies, including the critically acclaimed I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and other literary contributions to the civil rights movement. In late May 2014, Angelou passed away at her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina at the age of 86.

Background

Maya Angelou^[1] died on May 28th, 2014, in her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Her death was confirmed by the town’s mayor’s office and her literary agent that morning. Angelou sent out her final tweet^[3] on May 23rd, and in less than a week it gained over 50,000 retweets and over 30,000 favorites.

Writing Career

Over the course of her literary career spanning over four decades, Angelou won dozens of awards and nominations^[2], including a National Book Award nomination and a Coretta Scott King Honor for her first autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in 1970 and a Pulitzer nomination for her poetry collection Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ‘fore I Diiie in 1972. Angelou was chosen as the Inaugural Poet for the inauguration ceremony of President Bill Clinton in 1993. She also received numerous awards in the fields outside of literature, including over 30 honorary doctoral degrees, three Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Album in 1993, 1995, and 2002 and a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play in 1974

Notable Developments

Online Reaction

Shortly after the news of her death broke, Angelou’s friends and fans took to Twitter to express their sadness over her passing, including a long list of celebrities and politicians who shared some of her most memorable quotes in remembrance of the poet. In less than 24 hours, the hashtag #MayaAngelou^[4] was tweeted out over 160,000 times, and the keyword “Maya Angelou” was searched more than 2 million times on Google.

Angelou’s Quotes

Many websites remembered Angelou’s passing by publishing collections of inspirational quotes attributed to the author, including BuzzFeed’s^[5]^[6]“12 Must-See Video Clips Of Maya Angelou” and “21 Life-Changing Tweets From Maya Angelou,” Mother Jones’^[7]“7 Pieces of Timeless Wisdom From Maya Angelou,” the Huffington Post’s^[8]“9 Inspiring Maya Angelou Poems You Can Read Online” and Mashable’s^[10]“10 Maya Angelou Quotes That Will Lift You Up,” among many others.^[9]^[11]