One of the stamps features author and poet, Maya Angelou (April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014).
At first glance the stamp art would appear to be taken from a photograph, however it is in fact based on a portrait painted in the hyper-real style.
Angelou wrote many books, essays, plays, poems, and scripts, including cookbooks and children's books. She is perhaps best know for her work 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings', the first volume of her autobiographical series, published in 1969. This book has also been the subject of censorship, having been challenged or banned from high school curricula and libraries.
The stamp itself caused some controversy upon its release, as the quotation, which is widely cited as having been written by Angelou, is actually attributable to Joan Walsh Anglund. Angelou never claimed to have written these words. USPS opted to leave the stamp as is, rather than withdraw and reissue it with an Angelou quote.For links to other authors on stamps, please visit Sunday Stamps.
