Legacies in Black Literature: Maya Angelou and Toni Morrison

Maya Angelou honored by the book world before her death.

It's an Honor - In November 2013, Maya Angelou was finally honored by the book world. At the 64th National Book Awards Ceremony and Benefit Dinner, Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison presented Angelou with the Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community. Angelou died on Wednesday (May 28) and she will continue to live on in her poetry, song, television and play appearances Here, BET.com takes a look some of Angelou’s and Morrison’s most acclaimed works and accomplishments. —Dominique Zonyeé (@DominiqueZonyee)  (Photos: Brett Le Blanc/Correspondent/Getty Images; Francois Durand/Getty Images)
Dr. Maya Angelou - R Norene Brown: "Dr. Maya Angelou: She's a highly seasoned individual & she's exudes positivity, joy, life and wisdom; elements the generation needs."(Photo: Frank Micelotta/PictureGroup)
"Still I Rise" - "For over 40 years, imagine it, I have tried to tell the truth as I understand it, in prose, amazingly. I know that there's a difficulty in trying to write prose," Angelou told the audience at the 64th annual National Book Awards. "You know that easy reading is damn hard writing." Angelou is currently working on her 33rd book, which she said is harder to write than ever. (Photo: Kris Connor/Getty Images)I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - At the urging of her friend, author James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, who was already an accomplished dancer, linguist and lecturer, penned her first in a series of eight autobiographies. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings details the first 17 years of her life and issues of rape, identity and motherhood.  (Photo: Courtesy of Random House)

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It's an Honor - In November 2013, Maya Angelou was finally honored by the book world. At the 64th National Book Awards Ceremony and Benefit Dinner, Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison presented Angelou with the Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community. Angelou died on Wednesday (May 28) and she will continue to live on in her poetry, song, television and play appearances Here, BET.com takes a look some of Angelou’s and Morrison’s most acclaimed works and accomplishments. —Dominique Zonyeé (@DominiqueZonyee)  (Photos: Brett Le Blanc/Correspondent/Getty Images; Francois Durand/Getty Images)

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