Maya Angelou is one of the most famous poets of all time. Her work is a reflection of her difficulties during childhood and her adult life. He expressed many of his views through his poetry and other writings. Many of her poems revolve around equality and freedom because she grew up in the era of segregation and worked with civil rights activists. The poems he writes are intended to inspire the lives of others. To this day, Maya Angelou continues to write thought-provoking poetry. At the age of 7, Maya Angelou was raped by her mother's boyfriend. The boyfriend was found dead later at the hands of his uncle. Traumatized by what had happened, she thought her words had killed her rapist, so she became mute so her words couldn't hurt anyone else. "Angelou maintained almost complete silence for five years" (Author's study: M. Angelou). She moved to Arkansas where she continued to remain mute. “During these years, he retreated into a sheltered world of writing where his creativity was born and flourished” (Gaines 1). He started delving into books and that is known to be the beginning of his writing. “He read black authors such as Langston Hughes, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Paul Lawrence Dunbar, as well as canonical works by William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and Edgar Allan Poe” (Maya Angelou). He didn't speak again until he was twelve. "Mrs. Flowers, as Angelou recalled in the children's book Mrs. Flowers: A Moment of Friendship (1986), emphasized the importance of the spoken word, explained the nature and importance of education, and instilled in her the love of poetry" (Maya Angelou). In the 1960s she dedicated herself to the cause of the rights and freedom of African Americans. "As a civil rights activist, Angelou worked for Dr. Martin Luther... half of document……p://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/87>.• "Maya Angelou.": The Poetry Foundation. March 17, 2013.• Moore, Lucinda conversation with Maya Angelou at 75." Smithsonian Magazine. April 2003. Web. February 22, 2012. .• Gaines, Malendie. "Maya Angelou's Influences." Scribd. March 14, 2005. Web. February 22, 2012. .• " Still I Rise." By Maya Angelou: The Poetry Foundation. Network. Feb. 28 or .• "Phenomenal Woman." By Maya Angelou: The Poetry Foundation. Network. Feb. 28. .• "Caged Bird" . By Maya Angelou: The Poetry Foundation. Network. February 28. .