We looked for past words of wisdom from this remarkable woman
Searches for 'maya angelou quotes' soared 21x following her death as readers looked for words to live by.
A global role model
Maya Angelou, April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014
American author, poet, activist and entertainer Maya Angelou passed away in May. Famous for her autobiographies and poems, she moved African-American civil rights forward and earned international acclaim. Her honors were many: a Pulitzer Prize nomination, Grammys and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to name but three.
A literary mind
She lived a life so varied and full, her quotes, poems and biography all attracted huge interest in the days after her death.
After several notable life events, Angelou published her first autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, in 1969. Interest in the book jumped 5x this May.
She tackled issues of civil rights and gender discrimination in her collection of poems And Still I Rise. A particular poem, Phenomenal Woman, leapt 4x in global searches.
"She would want me, you, us to live her legacy."
These words were spoken by Oprah Winfrey, one of Angelou's closest friends, at her funeral. Searches for 'oprah maya angelou' spiked this year as people learned more about their special bond.
'maya angelou' was the fourth related term to 'poems'
So synonymous with poetry was Angelou that in May's global searches, hers was the first name attached to the writing genre.
Most asked questions about Maya Angelou:
- When did Maya Angelou die?
- When was Maya Angelou born?
- Where is Maya Angelou's grave?
- What is Maya Angelou's attitude to new direction?
- What did Maya Angelou do to help the world?
From a caged bird that sings to 'one hundred years of solitude'
Another literary great passed away this year: Gabriel García Márquez, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982. Searches for his greatest novel on the subject of love, life and loss increased by 5x.
A new Nobel Prize winner for a new generation
After last year’s UN speech, 'malala yousafzai' searches surged 7x in October and 'malala nobel prize' rose 29x as the education activist followed the path of past greats to become the youngest-ever Nobel Prize winner.