As Maya Angelou. an African-American author, was growing up, she learned about abuse and hate, but also about love and support. she was born in 1929 in Long Beach. California, and her parents separated three years later. When she was only eight years old. Maya was abused by her mother's boyfriend Then she and her brother went to live with her grandmother, who tilled her life with love. During her youth, she also discovered her love of literature. In 1945, Maya graduated from a high school in San Francisco and a few months Later, she had a baby son, who became the center of her life. In later years, Maya included all of these experiences in her novels, plays, and poems. She has received many honors as a writer. But perhaps her greatest honor came in 1993, when she was invited to write the official poem for the inauguration of President Bill Clinton. Main idea: Signal Words Events