I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Maya Angelou

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English

Virago
10 January 1996

Biography; Biography: general; Autobiography: general; Biography: literary; Autobiography: literary; Prose: non-fiction; Literary studies: from c 1900 -; Literary studies: poetry & poets; Literary studies: fiction, novelists & prose writers

Maya Angelou's six volumes of autobiography are a testament to the talents and resilience of this extraordinary writer. Loving the world, she also knows its cruelty. As a Black woman she has known discrimination and extreme poverty, but also hope, joy, achievement and celebration. In this first volume of her six books of autobiography, Maya Angelou beautifully evokes her childhood with her grandmother in the American south of the 1930s. She learns the power of the white folks at the other end of town and suffers the terrible trauma of rape by her mother's lover.

'I write about being a Black American woman, however, I am always talking about what it's like to be a human being. This is how we are, what makes us laugh, and this is how we fall and how we somehow, amazingly, stand up again' Maya Angelou

By: Maya Angelou
Imprint: Virago
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: New edition
Dimensions: Height: 196mm, Width: 128mm, Spine: 26mm
Weight: 252g
ISBN: 9780860685111
ISBN 10: 086068511X
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 10 January 1996
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

As well as her autobiography Maya Angelou has written several volumes of poetry, including 'On the Pulse of the Morning' for the inauguration of President Clinton. She now has a life-time appointment as Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University.

Reviews for I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

The first of five volumes of autobiography describing Angelou's often traumatic life is written with the pen of a poet who never loses her courage, resilience and optimism. Her story opens with her brilliantly evoked childhood in the American South of the 1930s, and the birth of her son shortly after graduating from High School. She goes on to describe her years in the slums of San Francisco, the lucky break which led to her transformation into a successful singer and dancer, her moves into writing and politics, and the relationship with her son Guy. (Kirkus UK)