[Shaun]

Poet, author and activist Maya Angelou has died at the age of 86.

One of America's leading literary voices of the last 50 years, Angelou is best-known for her 1969 memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

It was the first of seven volumes of autobiography that traced her life from a childhood of abuse and oppression in the Deep South in the 1930s.

The news of her death was confirmed by the mayor's office in her home town of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Mayor Allen Joines said he was "very sad of her passing".

A statement from Wake Forest University, where Angelou had been professor of American studies since 1982, said: "Dr Angelou was a national treasure whose life and teachings inspired millions around the world."

Harry Potter author JK Rowling tweeted one of her Angelou's quotes in tribute: "'If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.' Maya Angelou - who was utterly amazing."

Raised by her grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas, Angelou wrote about being raped by her mother's boyfriend at the age of eight. After she told her family what had happened, the boyfriend was killed.

"I thought my voice had killed him, so it was better not to speak - so I simply stopped speaking," she said. She remained mute for five years.

Angelou later became a singer, a dancer, cocktail waitress, prostitute and an actress before beginning her writing career.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which dealt with the racism and family trauma of her upbringing, spent two years on the US best-seller list.

Her career had many outlets, straddling television, theatre, film, children's books and music.

Her poetry collections included Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie (1971), And Still I Rise (1978), Now Sheba Sings the Song (1987), and I Shall Not Be Moved (1990).

Her poem On the Pulse of the Morning, written for US President Bill Clinton's first inauguration, struck a nerve with the nation and sold more than a million copies in the US.

She was also commissioned to write poems to mark the 50th anniversary of the United Nations in 1995 and remembered Nelson Mandela in a poem for the US State Department last year.

The National Medal of Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country's highest civilian award, were among her honours.

She also acted in the groundbreaking 1977 TV drama Roots and earned a Tony Award nomination in 1973 for her performance in the play Look Away.

She wrote the 1968 TV series Black, Blues, Black and became the first African-American woman to have a feature film adapted from one of her stories when her screenplay Georgia, Georgia was made in 1972.

Angelou directed the film Down in the Delta, won three Grammys for her spoken-word albums and received an honorary National Book Award in 2013.

R.I.P.

[Josiah.]

R.I.P.

[Loukas]

R.I.P

[Crimson Dynamo]

never heard of her

[Kizzy]

Dying breed inspirational activists.

[Tom4784]

An amazing woman, she lived a long life and did a hell of a lot with it.

[Livia]

I'm so glad someone started a thread for the passing of Maya Angelou. A truly inspirational woman. Her book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is one of the best, most moving books I've ever read, and her poetry was incredible. Rest In Peace, Maya x

Phenomenal Woman
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

[Jessica.]

Originally Posted by Livia

I'm so glad someone started a thread for the passing of Maya Angelou. A truly inspirational woman. Her book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is one of the best, most moving books I've ever read, and her poetry was incredible. Rest In Peace, Maya x

Phenomenal Woman
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Her work is beautiful, I agree. I have fond memories of studying this poem in English class when I was around 15.

[Shaun]

I had to do that poem as part of my GCSE

[Livia]

Shaun and Jess... someone game me that poem when I was a skinny, lanky teenager being bullied relentlessly and with self-esteem at an all-time low. I'll never forget it.

[LaLaLand]

R.I.P.

[Ammi]

..awww, how sad....

[GiRTh]

RIP

A truly great person.

[Benjamin]

Aww, I loved her poetry.