Maya Angelou is one of the most famous poets of all time. His work reflects his trials during his childhood and adult life. She expressed many of her opinions through her poetry and other writings. Many of her poems revolve around equality and freedom because she grew up during the era of segregation and worked with civil rights activists. The poems she writes are meant to inspire the lives of others. To this day, Maya Angelou continues to write inspiring poetry. At the age of 7, Maya Angelou was raped by her mother's boyfriend. The boyfriend was later found dead by the hand of his uncle. Traumatized by what had happened, she believed that her words had killed her rapist, so she became mute so that her words could not harm anyone else. “Angelou maintained almost complete silence for five years” (Author’s study: M. Angelou). She moved to Arkansas where she remained mute. “During these years, she retreated into a sheltered world of writing in which her creativity spawned and flourished” (Gaines 1). She began to delve into books and we know that this was the beginning of her writing. “She read black authors like Langston Hughes, WEB Du Bois and Paul Lawrence Dunbar, as well as canonical works by William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens and Edgar Allan Poe” (Maya Angelou). She didn't speak again until she was 40. twelve. "Mrs. Flowers, as Angelou recalled in her children's book Mrs. Flowers: A Moment of Friendship (1986), emphasized the importance of speech, explained the nature and importance of education and instilled a love of poetry" (Maya Angelou). In the 1960s, she dedicated herself to the cause of African American rights and freedom. "As a civil rights activist, Angelou worked for the. Dr. Martin Luther......middle of article......p://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/87>.• “Maya Angelou: The Poetry Foundation.” Poetry Foundation. March 17, 2013. • Moore, Lucinda. “A Conversation with Maya Angelou at 75.” Smithsonian Magazine. February 22, 2012. • Gaines, Malendie. . March 14, 2005. The web. February 22, 2012. • “I always get up.” By Maya Angelou: The Internet Poetry Foundation. .February 28.• “Bird in a cage”. By Maya Angelou: The Poetry Foundation. Internet. February 28. .