I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Beautiful, thought provoking, riveting read. What a ‘colourful' life Maya has endured and has the presence and the heart to write the books that cover this period. One of my personal favourite reads.

We visit Maya Angelou's childhood in scenes throughout the book, introducing us to her life as much as the life of the black population during Jim Crow. Really good book, my only problem is that a book written in independent scenes is not made for a person with my attention span and it took me forever to finish it.

Great storytelling wrapped up in Angelou's poetic and lyrical phrasing made for a great listen, especially since the audiobook is read by the author herself.

This is the first ever Maya Angelou book that I have picked up. A short read sort of like a memoir of her childhood to adulthood days. The way she has put down her traumatic experiences of childhood makes you have a lump in your throat. The writing is very intense and emotionally powerful.
I look forward to exploring more of Maya's works.

I laughed. I cried. Everyone should read this.

Jedna od najlepših knjiga koje sam pročitala.

What some people are made to endure, and yet they come out “shining”, with nothing but good will for others, will always amaze me. Some of us are definitely much stronger than others!

Beautiful poetic writing. I wanted to love this so much more then I did. But still so glad I read it

Maya had an extraordinary childhood, to be sure, but I wish she had expounded on her teen years more. Her homelessness, sexual discovery, and pregnancy got a single chapter each. I'm pretty sure she was in church or in a sermon-like setting for close to eight chapters combined. I‘m always skeptical of non-fiction because real life is rarely as interesting as one's imagination, but this book was one of those rare examples. This book only covered 13 years of her 86 years of life and it was full of experience. Her outrage at her grandmother being disrespected, her guilt for misunderstanding her stepfathers abuse, her understanding and bond with her brother, every experience of racism, all remembered through the perspective of a child, made this book read like a study of humanity. (Or lack thereof.)

The story grew into me slowly. For a while I thought it was just ok, and well written for sure. But over time, I couldn't resist in getting fascinated by the strength of the main character and the strength of the youth. A lot of things to unpack from this book, I'll leave to the academics to talk about it, I'm just saying that this book is profound but still fun and enjoyable, reading it is absolutely not a chore and it won't make you feel bad, just a little more aware of the world.

Short Thoughts: Angelou is a beautiful writer, but that beautiful writing is made better by her reading it. The words are lyrical and she knows how they were intended to be read. So listening to her voice read her words which tells her story seems to me to be the best option. I will eventually get to the autobiographies that she doesn't read and have to read them without her voice, but I will read the six and seventh, which have audio before I read the middle ones which do not.

This is story based, not chronological history. As I was glancing around, I saw that some called this autobiographical fiction. But that seems to be wrong to me although I have not read enough to be definite about that. I have read Madeline L'Engle and Sarah Arthur's biography of L'Engle which talks about L'Engle's shaping of her story. And that model seems to me likely true here too. Angelou is shaping her story for a purpose. Not to misrepresent her story, but to find meaning and truth in the story.

This is not a rated G autobiography of a childhood (it ends at age 17). Rape, pregnancy, abuse, homelessness and tragedy are all here, as well as much joy. Because a child is the subject, does not mean that it is a ‘children's book'.


My longer thoughts are on my blog at http://bookwi.se/i-know-why-the-caged-bird-sings/

A vignette-laden autobiography of the tough beginning of one of America's most important artists.

Wow, there was so much about Maya Angelou that I didn't know! She is an amazing woman and lived such a crazy life. I really don't know how she managed to deal with all she did but I suppose she didn't have much choice in the matter.

Born Marguerite Johnson, she and her brother Bailey were sent to live with their grandmother when their parents split up. At 3 and 4 years old, they were sent unaccompanied on a train from Long Beach, California to Stamps, Arkansas. Their tickets were pinned inside her brothers jacket with a note that said, “To whom it may concern...” Their grandmother was the only black woman in the small town to own her own store and she took them in and made sure they were fed and clothed. After several years in Stamps their father came for them and took them to live with their mother. Life there was much different and and had its own challenges. Life was only just beginning for Maya and it wasn't going to be an easy road. After many trials and tribulations she learned to stand tall, own her actions, and just be herself.

I suppose I should have read this before Mom & Me & Mom because this was much of what she talked about in that book and I took too long to get to this one! If I had read this years ago like I should have I wouldn't have had this problem.

I was so impressed with this autobiography. It takes tremendous courage to reveal all the events of one's life. Maya Angelou's honesty showed me how powerful a true story can be when it's told well. Maya talks about her childhood in the American south, broken family, schooling, love of books, and how she coped with being wronged sexually.

I've read a number of books recently on how those who are black in the USA have fared over time. It's unconscionable that one race of people is excluded from anything just because of race. Or treated as if they are inferior somehow. Though I'm white, I've experienced prejudice, being a child of immigrants, who were not entirely welcomed in Canada. I experienced hateful words which marked me for years. Still, nothing I went through comes close to what those who are black went through and still go through. I am thankful for my upbringing and my experience as my hurt has made me sensitive to others, who are discriminated against whether they are of a different race, religion or sexual orientation.

A highly recommended book.

Undoubtedly amazing. It's just a little too sad for me at this time. But greatly, this is one good book.

I've heard about this book for years, so I was happy to run across a copy of it in a recent bookbox. In honor of Black History Month, I decided to try it.

I would say I liked it. I didn't love it, but parts of it kept me reading along at a nice clip. It's the story of a girl who considers herself ugly and is regarded as ugly by others. She is set aside by her mother and father and later her grandmother and uncle. She suffers from abuse by a step-parent when she was a very young girl. She is a member of the black population during the time that her people are tormented by her white peers. Yet she grows up strong and confident.

Parts of the book are poetic and beautifully written.

While this book was not my favorite, I am glad that I read it. If nothing else, at least it's off my To Read list.

I read this a long time ago. I think it could be a good book it was just too graphic for my young mind. There are some parts that still haunt me to this day.