I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Written by Maya Angelou

Narrated by Maya Angelou

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

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
• Release date: Nov 29, 2005
• ISBN: 9780739334706

Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou was one of the world's most important writers and activists. Born 4 April 1928, she lived and chronicled an extraordinary life: rising from poverty, violence and racism, she became a renowned author, memoirist, poet, playwright, civil rights' activist - working with Malcolm X and Martin Luther King. She wrote and performed a poem, 'On the Pulse of Morning', for President Clinton on his inauguration. She was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama and was honoured by more than seventy universities throughout the world. She first thrilled the world with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969). This was followed by six volumes of autobiography, the seventh and final volume, Mom & Me & Mom, published in 2013. She wrote three collections of essays; many volumes of poetry, including His Day is Done, a tribute to Nelson Mandela; and two cookbooks. She had a lifetime appointment as Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University of North Carolina. She died in 2014.

Reviews for I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

[JoseArvidez · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Maya Angelou tells us in this autobiography about her childhood as a girl of color through anecdotes and memories. She shows us life through her eyes and with her innocence, and we witness terrible moments.

We accompany Maya in that racist world and also join her in that small loving bubble formed by her family. We laugh with her, but we also suffer with her. In this reading, there were moments I did not connect with, and others that I read in one go.

The book ends very strongly, and unfortunately, I believe its continuation is not translated into Spanish... (Translated from Spanish)

[Rogrigionirolectora · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

? An autobiographical novel that rises above the particular to portray the difficulties of being a girl, black, and a woman. Due to age, race, or gender, this story tells of the injustices suffered by many as a senselessness that finds no explanation. Not only due to racial difference but also class. Merits that are demanded when opportunities are denied, repeated injustices, pains that seem eternal and go beyond a time or place.

? While some chapters felt slow and overly descriptive, I appreciate the instructive power of this novel. Chapter 23, about her graduation, seemed memorable to me. A life that faces painful situations but also wields the power of words and finds the will to rebuild and defend her identity. Ultimately, the overall message of resistance and overcoming makes the reading experience very positive. (Translated from Spanish)

[Samydiaz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is an autobiography of the author, set in the United States in the 1930s, telling about her childhood and how she survived discrimination and abuse. This story made me understand the severity of racism and how absurd laws and social norms can be.

I liked the calmness and tranquility she describes in a brave, rebellious, and innocent girl who was forced to grow up too quickly. I appreciated her strong and tenacious character that will make her fight for all her goals...

I loved the passion she felt for books and how she kept getting up despite the falls and how she kept singing despite the cages. (Translated from Spanish)

[MariaMoldes · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Moving
Tender.
Wonderful.
A gem.

I had the (unjust) belief that it was a complicated book, with a complex and dense narrative, but nothing could be further from the truth. It is a delight... Simply fantastic and in my humble and personal opinion, a book that everyone, absolutely everyone, should read.

The fact that it is the first of a collection of seven (it seems like quite a feat, but there are literary sagas with half that and the first book contributes not even a quarter...)

Very, very recommended. And if you only knew Maya Angelou as a cultural reference provided by The Simpsons (hey! They have their cultural contribution, right!), this could be the ideal book to get to know her better.

Good day and better reading!

P.S. With I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, I complete the literary challenge dedicated to minorities and finish the challenge for the quarter. Who would have wished for a better closure? (Translated from Spanish)

[julia1955 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Maya Angelou narrates her autobiography in this, her first novel. She and her brother spend their childhood with their paternal grandmother in Arkansas, where racist conditions are extreme. Later, they move to live with their mother in San Francisco, a city where her life is not easy either. Maya, despite the negative conditions of her life, always shows an optimistic character and great intelligence. (Translated from Spanish)

[Rinconete · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the first of the seven autobiographical novels that Maya Angelou wrote. In this one in particular, she narrates her life from ages 3 to 16, during the first half of the 20th century, when the rights of the black population in the U.S. were still a pure utopia. Maya tells us about her tough childhood and how she was raised by her grandmother in a small town in the deep South. The profound social differences, racism, fear, injustice... all of it narrated so well that we quickly find ourselves unable to avoid being moved by the story of the young protagonist. (Translated from Spanish)

[Juncal63 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A very interesting novel about the problems of being a black woman in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. The novel, written in the first person, tells the story of a girl growing up in Arkansas with her grandmother and her brother. The novel is a reflection of how difficult it is to be a girl of color in a world filled with rules and obstacles. Highly recommended. (Translated from Spanish)