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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

by Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou’s memoir of her childhood in Arkansas and California

1969Steady paceThoughtful

What it is about

Marguerite, later known as Maya Angelou, is sent with her brother to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. Over the years she faces racism, trauma and silence, and she finds strength through books and her own voice. The memoir follows her to age sixteen.

Who will enjoy it

Readers who like memoirs about growing up and finding your voice.

What you will get

A powerful and beautiful book. It deals with trauma and racism, so it can be painful at times.

Behind the book

It was published in 1969 and was the first of seven autobiographies Angelou wrote.

Source: Wikipedia

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Facts: Pages, Genre and Setting

Genre

Nonfiction · Memoir · Resilience · Voice

Length

289 pages · ≈ 8 h

More about this book

Characters

Maya Angelou, her brother Bailey and her grandmother.

Setting

Stamps, Arkansas, and California in the 1930s and 1940s.

What makes it different

A lyrical memoir by a poet, written like a novel.

Feel

Honest, poetic and hopeful.

About Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou1 book on Tori BooksAmerican poet and memoirist (1928–2014). I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings appeared in 1969.

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