I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Maya Angelou

Apr 2009 · Sold by Random House

About this ebook

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. Years later, in San Francisco, Maya learns that love for herself, the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors (“I met and fell in love with William Shakespeare”) will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned.
 
Poetic and powerful, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings will touch hearts and change minds for as long as people read.

“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings liberates the reader into life simply because Maya Angelou confronts her own life with such a moving wonder, such a luminous dignity.”—James Baldwin

Ratings and reviews

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a powerful and moving memoir about a young Black girl growing up in the American South during the Jim Crow era. Maya Angelou writes beautifully about her experiences with racism, poverty, and violence. The book is both heartbreaking and hopeful, and it's a must-read for anyone who wants to learn more about the civil rights movement.

MS. Mayo angelou was the sweetest and kind lady of our history. Every book she created is something precious and should be taken well care of. I had read this book in the eight grade and I automatically feel in love with it. You can't help but to love her books because they are based from her actual childhood and its So personal . If you haven't read this book you should and I promise, you will fall in love. R.I.P. TO MY FAVORITE AUTHOR

OH GOD I felt, so SAd... I cried At the Chapter of 11 ... i was speechless, thinking for days..Of why.. And What He had done this 8 year Girl. She didnt even become a young lady yet.. Its Just so Depressing. BUT the book was just Stunningly Beautiful..

About the author

Maya Angelou was raised in Stamps, Arkansas. In addition to her bestselling autobiographies, including I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and The Heart of a Woman, she wrote numerous volumes of poetry, among them Phenomenal Woman, And Still I Rise, On the Pulse of Morning, and Mother. Maya Angelou died in 2014.