I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

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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.

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

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Discover more books by Maya Angelou
A complete collection of poetry, including Maya Angelou’s inaugural poem “On the Pulse of Morning” Maya Angelou shares her path to living well and with meaning in this absorbing book of personal essays A collection of beloved poems about women from the iconic Maya Angelou A moving memoir about the legendary author’s relationship with her own mother Read unforgettable vignettes of Billie Holiday and Malcom X, as Maya Angelou chronicles the burdens of a Black mother in America Maya Angelou’s classic memoirs have had an enduring impact on American literature and culture

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ballantine Books
Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 21, 2009
Edition ‏ : ‎ Reissue
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0345514408
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0345514400
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.14 x 0.8 x 6.8 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #2,941 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #6 in Author Biographies #36 in Women’s Biographies #61 in Memoirs (Books)
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