Maya Angelou has died at the age of 86.
According to her agent, Helen Brann, the noted author and poet died near her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina early this morning.
She reportedly had been battling an illness as she has been cancelling recent appearances.
Angelou was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1928 and moved to Stamps, Arkansas in 1931. She lived there until 1935.
Some of her best known works include “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” and reading a poem during President Bill Clinton’s 1993 inauguration.
Our sister publication, Arkansas Business, has more on Angelou’s legacy here.