I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings | Maya Angelou

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings | Maya Angelou | I Now Know Why The Caged Birds Sings And Why Maya Is "A Living Legend!!!"

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I Know Why the Cag...

	I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Maya Angelou Bantam, 1997 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 308 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The moving and beautiful autobiography of a talented black woman. ". . . I have no words for this achievement, but I know that not since the days of my childhood . . . have I found myself so moved . . . Her portrait is a Biblical study of life in the midst of death".--James Baldwin.

Well Written Account

This is another autobiography by Maya Angelou.

Here, she tells of the hardships she experienced in growin up: her parent's divorce, being sent to live with their grandmother in a small, Arkansas town and its racism, sexual abuse and more emotional scarring.

Eventually, Maya finds a father figure and when better things began to happen to her, she started to find her voice.

This is honest and gripping...

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I Now Know Why The Caged Birds Sings And Why Maya Is "A Living Legend!!!"

I write for the Student Operated Press and recently my boss there did an interview with this simply amazing woman! I'm also an author so if you visit my page here at Amazon, I've also put a link up on it to that interview as well.

That said, for a variety of reasons, "I Know Why The Cage Bird Sings" is definitely one of my favorite books now and as amazing as Maya is as a poet, I am looking forward to reading more of her stories.

This book is definitely an "American Classic" and I could say "African American Classic" but I believe everyone should read this book!

And she captures her experiences so well it is a kin to being transported through time and being an invisible witness as her life unfolds. I'd read some of her poetry before and as a poet myself I was very impressed and understood why she was so lauded.

But now in reading this book, it is extremely clear to me why she was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize! Maya can certainly write circles around some of the best of them!

It starts with her and her brother going across country at tender young ages alone by train and never waivers in the fact every detail is interesting. Her observations and her manner of delivery are so comfortable to read it is like she is sitting next to you recounting her life, the lives of those from her past, and how each of those shaped the remarkable woman she has become.

I don't want to say what the book is about completely or reveal too many things that would be like someone telling you about a great movie you yourself haven't seen yet, but her style, her delivery and her gift is indeed evident on every page! I would rather say I found myself transported to my own childhood and how reading this sparked memories in my own life experience.

Raised in a military family, born in Japan, but my parents are from Virginia so we would often go "Home" to visit relatives and it is from those experiences I can so relate to what she has written here. And although not Arkansas, the things Maya presents in this book took me back, way back to a time of walking up "The Hill" with a pocket full of change and buying candy from the "Store" with the squeaky swinging door. (It was really just a room converted on someone's house), and how "Those People" talked so differently than what I was use to with their "Great Day! Look at how this boy done Grown!" And how everyone had a strange nick name like Titter Rabbit or Binky or Pug, (My now late Uncle), and my Dad who everyone there called (Bo).

In this instance we were the "City Folk" or at least that is how they received us there. Cast Iron Stoves, bed pans, out houses and chiggers and racer snakes and the un used well in the back of the yard at my one Grandmothers and so many stray cats and dogs with ticks on them the size of marbles...

I can't recommend this book highly enough and I'm left wondering if this incredible legendary writer known the world over for her literary skills, also knows how to make "Batter Bread" like my Grandmother use to make:)

5 Stars is all I can give here but the truth of the matter is this is a "Classic" and I am sort of kicking myself for not reading this earlier in my life. (I'd bought the book years ago, and decided well since Judyth Piazza interviewed her, let me see if this poet can really write).

Still picking my jaw up off the floor:)

Forever blessings to you Maya and...

"Weekdays revolved on a sameness wheel. They turned into themselves so steadily and inevitably that each seemed to be the original of yesterday's rough draft. Saturdays, however, always broke the mold and dared to be different."

You've dared to be different as well and left a legacy that I'm speechless to try and convey for the rest of us.

With the truest of respect,

Chase Von

Your Chance to Hear The Last Panther Speak

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The time of book that moves you

Maya Angelou's I know why the caged bird sings is the type of book that people who love to read will enjoy. The book follows Angelou through her early years, mostly spent with you grandmother who ran a local store. More than an auto-biography. Its Angelou's words, her presence that really reaches out and grabs you. Through all her hardships and obstacles in life she was able to overcome them and thrive. Maya Angelou is an fantastic writer who so easily connects with the heart and souls of her readers. Truly an enjoyable experience.

Quick Read

This is good book for a summary of "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou that gives the characters and events of the reading for study and research that one could find any given chapter to support the ideas for an essay.

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Charmed but Cautious

This book provides well-written insight into growing up as a black child during the Depression. Maya Angelou is wonderful with her use of words and imagery. I was greatly reminded of my own childhood and what being a kid really meant. Written in first person, she addresses childhood fears, respect for adults and growing up with such tangible details that she could be her eight-year-old self again.

Angelou's insights into the African-American way of life and religion during a time of national change range from tender to comical. She speaks warmly of her love for her brother and her frustration with the young white girls. It is sweet to see the growing up process taking affect and the experiences of youth shaping her character.

I am somewhat relieved that we were not permitted to read this book back in my high school literature class where many parents were opposed to it. I fear it would have caught me off guard in many respects. Many of the sexual themes running throughout the book are quite heavy and discussed in detail. Both the subjects of rape and teen pregnancy are covered and sex in general is frequently alluded to.

Though I do perceive this as a lovely piece of literature, I would be cautious in offering it to teens and others who may be unprepared for its impact.

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