maya angelou book i know why the caged bird sings

Named by Modern Library as one of the 100 best non-fiction books of the twentieth century and by Time Magazine as one of the top 100 non-fiction books written in English since 1923. Her portrait is a biblical study in life in the midst of death' (James Baldwin).

I have no words for this achievement, but I know that not since the days of my childhood, when the people in books were more real than the people one saw every day, have I found myself so moved. 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. Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and. Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide. 'This testimony from a black sister marks the beginning of a new era in the minds and hearts of all black men and women. 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. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, 'Roger Stephens, Joy! Maya Angelou.' Fine in a fine dust jacket. Octavo, original first issue book, with the top edge stained red. After Freeman is murdered, she stops speaking, frightened of words.First edition of Angelou's critically acclaimed first book.

Sent to live with her mother, Maya endures the trauma of rape by her mother's lover Mr Freeman ('a breaking and entering when even the senses are torn apart'). Living with their grandmother, 'Momma', who owns a general merchandise store, and Uncle Willie, they suffer racist incidents both in the store and on the streets – nowhere feels safe. The painful sense of being unwanted haunts her early childhood, for when Maya (then known as Marguerite) is three and her brother Bailey four they are sent to the 'musty little town' of segregated Stamps, Arkansas wearing tags on their wrists addressed to 'To whom it may concern', dispatched by their parents in California who had decided to end their 'calamitous marriage'. This evocative first volume of her six books of autobiography, originally published in 1969 (1984 in the UK), vividly depicts Angelou's 'tender years' from the ages of three to 16, partly in the American south during the depression-wracked 1930s, while also offering timeless insights into the empowering quality of books. T he caged bird 'sings of freedom', writes Maya Angelou in her poem 'Caged Bird' – a poignant recurring image throughout her work, as she eloquently explores the struggle to become liberated from the shackles of racism and misogyny.

Maya angelou book i know why the caged bird sings