Maya Angelou (1928-2014) was one of the most celebrated and distinguished voices of our time. She was an inspiring renaissance woman--poet, writer, performer, teacher, and director. In addition to her bestselling and internationally acclaimed autobiographies, beginning with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, she wrote five poetry collections, five books of essays, two cookbooks, and the celebrated poem "On the Pulse of Morning," which she read at the inauguration of President William Jefferson Clinton. Dr. Angelou was the recipient of three Grammys, the National Medal of Arts, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and more than fifty honorary degrees.