With the death of Maya Angelou, the world has lost one of the premier female voices in African-American literature. Angelou belonged to a group of women writers who began to rise in prominence after the turn of the 20th century and who depicted in letters the lives of African-American and Afro-Caribbean women. Click through the gallery for examples of Angelou's contemporaries.
Maya Angelou's contemporaries —
With the death of Maya Angelou, the world has lost one of the premier female voices in African-American literature. Angelou belonged to a group of women writers who began to rise in prominence after the turn of the 20th century and who depicted in letters the lives of African-American and Afro-Caribbean women. Click through the gallery for examples of Angelou's contemporaries.
TIM SLOAN/AFP/Getty Images
Toni Morrison was a former book editor whose first novel, 1970's The "Bluest Eye," launched her career telling the often painful stories of African-American girls and women coming of age in a world stacked against them. Winner of numerous awards, including the Nobel Prize in literature and the Pulitzer Prize, Morrison continues to reign as the grand dame of literary fiction.
Toni Morrison —
Toni Morrison was a former book editor whose first novel, 1970's The "Bluest Eye," launched her career telling the often painful stories of African-American girls and women coming of age in a world stacked against them. Winner of numerous awards, including the Nobel Prize in literature and the Pulitzer Prize, Morrison continues to reign as the grand dame of literary fiction.
Kris Connor/Getty Images
Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning author Alice Walker has written biographical books and lauded novels, such as 1982's "The Color Purple," which was made into an Oscar-nominated film starring Whoopi Goldberg and directed by Steven Spielberg. She is also a poet and activist for women's rights.
Alice Walker —
Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning author Alice Walker has written biographical books and lauded novels, such as 1982's "The Color Purple," which was made into an Oscar-nominated film starring Whoopi Goldberg and directed by Steven Spielberg. She is also a poet and activist for women's rights.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Poet and professor Nikki Giovanni's fiery work often addresses race and gender. A finalist for the National Book Award and a sought-after speaker, Giovanni teaches at Virginia Tech and has penned several books for children and adults.
Nikki Giovanni —
Poet and professor Nikki Giovanni's fiery work often addresses race and gender. A finalist for the National Book Award and a sought-after speaker, Giovanni teaches at Virginia Tech and has penned several books for children and adults.
Kris Connor/Getty Images
Born in 1949 as Elaine Richardson on the island of Antigua,<br />the novelist known as Jamaica Kincaid moved to the U.S. as a young woman. She wrote in "A Small Place" of life in post-colonial Antigua and has written for publications such as the New Yorker. She is a professor of literature at Claremont-McKenna College.
Jamaica Kincaid —
Born in 1949 as Elaine Richardson on the island of Antigua,
the novelist known as Jamaica Kincaid moved to the U.S. as a young woman. She wrote in "A Small Place" of life in post-colonial Antigua and has written for publications such as the New Yorker. She is a professor of literature at Claremont-McKenna College.
Ramesh Sharma/India Today Group/Getty Images
Playwright and civil rights activist Lorraine Hansberry wrote the classic tale of African-American striving "A Raisin in the Sun" before she turned 30. The play would earn her a prestigious New York Critics' Circle award in 1958 and be staged continually over the years. After enjoying early success, Hansberry died at age 34 of pancreatic cancer.
Lorraine Hansberry —
Playwright and civil rights activist Lorraine Hansberry wrote the classic tale of African-American striving "A Raisin in the Sun" before she turned 30. The play would earn her a prestigious New York Critics' Circle award in 1958 and be staged continually over the years. After enjoying early success, Hansberry died at age 34 of pancreatic cancer.
Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images
Gwendolyn Brooks was named Illinois Poet Laureate and was the first African-American to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize. Her poems, many of which lyricized the plight of the urban poor such as "We Real Cool," won her a multigenerational following. She also wrote a novel, "Maud Martha." Brooks died in 2000.
Gwendolyn Brooks —
Gwendolyn Brooks was named Illinois Poet Laureate and was the first African-American to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize. Her poems, many of which lyricized the plight of the urban poor such as "We Real Cool," won her a multigenerational following. She also wrote a novel, "Maud Martha." Brooks died in 2000.
PHIL VELASQUEZ/Chicago Tribune/MCT/Landov
Science fiction novelist Octavia Butler wrote of future worlds and isolation, themes familiar to her. Butler told The New York Times in 2000 that she didn't see characters like herself in the sci-fi she read as a child, so when she became a writer, she wrote herself into the story. The onetime MacArthur "genius" Fellow died in 2006.
Octavia Butler —
Science fiction novelist Octavia Butler wrote of future worlds and isolation, themes familiar to her. Butler told The New York Times in 2000 that she didn't see characters like herself in the sci-fi she read as a child, so when she became a writer, she wrote herself into the story. The onetime MacArthur "genius" Fellow died in 2006.
Joshua Trujillo/Seattle Post-Intelligencer/AP
Paule Marshall's first novel, 1959's "Brown Girl, Brownstones," depicts the life of a West Indian girl growing up in New York -- an upbringing similar to her own. The pull between traditional island life and the big city is a theme Marshall has often explored; she went on to write several more books and works of poetry. She was a MacArthur Fellow and winner of the Dos Passos Prize for Literature and American Book Award.
Paule Marshall —
Paule Marshall's first novel, 1959's "Brown Girl, Brownstones," depicts the life of a West Indian girl growing up in New York -- an upbringing similar to her own. The pull between traditional island life and the big city is a theme Marshall has often explored; she went on to write several more books and works of poetry. She was a MacArthur Fellow and winner of the Dos Passos Prize for Literature and American Book Award.
ap