Born of a decadent marriage and an unstable family, Maya Angelou excite her poetic intentions through her commanding and eloquent words. Maya Angelou, center of the mystery and descendant of the broken, like a champion, rose from the ashes and into the stage lights. An American author and artist who has been called "America's most visible black autobiographer" by dozens of people, she has achieved notable recognition around the world. She is best known for her sequence of six autobiographical stories, focusing on her childhood and early adulthood. Her writing, through the eyes and experiences of a Black woman, can give structure to the study of race relations and culture in 20th-century America. Angelou's work is therefore a presentation of the life of a black woman who has lived in the urban South and North, who has lived in Africa and traveled in Europe. She went through poverty and despair and was granted great honors. Her work is the expression of those experiences and sensations through the eyes of a black woman. Due to specific events in Maya Angelou's life, her writing style was extremely pretentious. Maya Angelou was born on April 4, 1928 as Marguerite Ann Johnson. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri to Bailey Johnston, Sr., a door attendant and Vivian Baxter Johnston, a car dealer at a local gaming hall. Marguerite's only brother, Bailey, was a year older. He gave Marguerite his nickname when he couldn't pronounce her name and called her "my sister" or "my-sister". The nickname was shortened to Maya. Although Bailey called Marguerite "Maya", she called herself Marguerite Johnson or Rita until she reached adulthood. In 1949, she changed her name to Maya Angelou... middle of paper... she put in the extra effort and sacrificed a lot, but she still stands above it. Bibliography! Angaza, Maitefa. "A precious Mayan prism." Black Problems book review. March 01, 2001: 30. eLibrary. Network. May 19. 2014. “Angelou, Maya (biography).” Her Legacy: A Biographical Encyclopedia of Famous American Women. 1.00 ed. 1995. eLibrary. Network. May 19. 2014."Angelou, Maya." Compton of Britannica, v 6.0. 2009. eLibrary. Network. May 19. 2014. Angelou, Maya, Edwin Graves. Wilson and Jerome Lagarrigue. Maya Angelou. New York: Sterling, 2007. Print."Angelou, Maya." Grolier multimedia encyclopedia. Grolier online, 2014. Web. 19 May. 2014. Matthews, Glenna. Angelou, Maya. Oxford University Press, 2000. eLibrary. Network. May 19. 2014Shapiro, Miles. Maya Angelou. New York: Chelsea House, 1994. Print.AShuker, Nancy. Maya Angelou. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Silver Burdett, 1990. Print.