I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Paperback, 304 pages

English language

Published April 21, 2009 by Random House Trade Paperbacks.

ISBN:
978-0-8129-8002-8
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OCLC Number:
906447742
ASIN:
0812980026
Goodreads:
56867342

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(4 reviews)

Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide. Her life story is told in the documentary film And Still I Rise, as seen on PBS’s American Masters.

Here is a book as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right. Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide.

Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local “powhitetrash.” At eight years old and back at her mother’s side in St. Louis, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age—and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. …

37 editions

Impressive

A book so good it was banned at West Point! While books banned by the Trump government deserve to be read for that reason in general this autobiography of Maya Angelou's childhood and youth especially deserves it. You get an insightful and very thorough look into life in the rural South, the pervasive racism, the importance of church life and how people use it in their own ways and an adventure story of running away. I feel like every American should read/listen to it but it's also very impressive for everyone else. If you like audiobooks try to get this one which is read by Maya Angelou herself which adds another layer to the story being told.

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