Hillary Clinton spoke with the late Maya Angelou at Wake Forest University, in Winston-Salem, United States, April 18, 2010. Angelou who grew up in poverty, separatism and violence, managed to become a force of its own in the stage, the big screen, and print media. AP/Chuck Burton
TEMPO.CO, N. Carolina - Novelist, poet, and writer Maya Angelou has passed away at 86. BBC reported that the Mayor of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, confirmed Angelou's death earlier today. Angelou is the first Afro-American writer to present the poem during Bill Clinton's inauguration back in 1993.
Angelou has produced more than 30 books, the most famous being an autobiography "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings". Born as Marguerite Annie Johnson, she has also won several awards and honors. The Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011 is the highest.
Angelou was supposed to earn another award in the Major League Baseball’s Beacon Awards Luncheon in Houston, in which she declined to present due to health issue. Her death has triggered massive condolences in the social media, including one from Harry Potter's writer, JK Rowling, and US President, Barack Obama.
