Maya Angelou, the late, great black American author and civil rights activist, was once described by President Barack Obama as “a brilliant writer, a fierce friend and a truly phenomenal woman.”

Her life and work is being celebrated during Huddersfield Literature Festival at an event that will bring together contemporary black writers and performers.

Presented by Birkby-based freelance theatre director and creative producer Amanda Huxtable, the evening (March 10) at the Media Centre’s Cafe Ollo will open with a contemporary dance performance by 17-year-old Ebony Greaves, a student of the Northern School of Contemporary Dance and New College in Huddersfield.

As well as readings from Angelou’s work, a group of Yorkshire poets, playwrights and novelists will share some of their writing and Amanda will interview Kadija Sesay from Peepal Tree Press, which specialises in publishing Caribbean and black British fiction, poetry and non-fiction.

It promises to be an eventful and busy evening.

Maya Angelou, who died last year, was massively influential in raising awareness of racism, child abuse and gender issues at a time when America had segregation. She was a woman of many talents and as well as writing 36 books, including children’s fiction and her famous early autobiography I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, she was also an academic, dancer, singer, poet and actress.

Author Maya Angelou

Amanda says that Angelou was her “Shakespeare”. She explained: “When I was young I would go to the library and pick her up and read. I was a young black girl born in Britain and I didn’t feel so alone. Some of her experiences were very, very familiar, but she made me feel that there was an exciting hopeful journey ahead. She was very brave and so talented and intelligent; she was talking about times of great change. I held onto everything she ever said.”

Gather Together in My Name: Celebrating the Life of Maya Angelou starts at 7pm. Tickets are £2.50 and £5. Booking details can be found at www.litfest.org

On Friday, March 6, the literature festival features Huddersfield author Joanne Harris and a group of musicians. The Storytime event, at the Lawrence Batley Theatre, follows an experiment to create stories using Twitter and is described by Joanne as “seven little stories, with songs and other assorted stuff.”

Tickets for Joanne Harris and Friends: Storytime are £6 and £12 from 01484 430528 or www.thelbt.org