I had a poetry professor who stated that after Caged Bird most of Angelou is really not good poetry and that Lucille Clifton acroos-the-board is a better representation and writer, but wildly underappreciated - that Angelou was able to make a break, publicity-wise, with her first book that Clifton never managed.

I still believe Angelou was a great person and did great things, I don't mean to denigrate her, her life, or the meaning of either, but if you are looking at it from a literature perspective and find Angelou lacking, maybe Clifton would be a better fit for you.