a book

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Name: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Rating: 5 (17 reviews)
Author: Maya Angelou (READ: Maya Angelou’s Recommended Reads
ISBN: 9780345514400

Maya Angelou (READ: Maya Angelou’s Recommended Reads · 1993 · 304 pages

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. Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide.

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

recommended by 17 people

sourced from public statements

Shonda Rhimes
“It’s one of the first poems I memorized for recitation, and when said aloud it’s especially powerful. The dichotomy of the carefree joy and the seething rage rubbing against one another stanza by stanza always felt — and continues to feel — like the perfect maddening definition of the human experience.”↗
Jay Shetty
“My recommendations from last year. Would you like a list for 2018? #books”↗
Jennifer Lopez
“Books to read📖: "WHY I'M NO LONGER TALKING TO WHITE PEOPLE ABOUT RACE" BY RENI EDDO-LODGE, "THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD" BY ZORA NEALE HURSTON. "THE HATE U GIVE" BY ANGIE THOMAS, "I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS" BY MAYA ANGELOU, "WHITE FRAGILITY" BY ROBIN DIANGELO, PHD”↗
Christiane Amanpour
“A deeply personal story of the brutalization of a whole people in the world’s most important democracy. This is the first Angelou book that I read, when I was much younger, and to this day I am unable to compute the breathtaking immorality of her (people’s) circumstances. I still cannot even imagine enduring and surviving that kind of pain and violence and injustice. It is as relevant and important today as ever.”↗
Kim Cattrall
“A woman who had found an incredible expression of her human experience, which was filled with pain. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings – the poetry of that is inherent in the title. It tells you so much about what to expect in the book, but also about her experience and her being able to channel that through her work, which is what I define as an artist.”↗
Alice Korngold
“My favorite books (fiction & non) that have helped me understand #racialjustice: #Homegoing #YaaGyasi #TheLoveSongsofWEBDuBois @BlkLibraryGirl #IKnowWhyTheCagedbirdSings #MayaAngelou #Becoming @MichelleObama #TheWarmthOfOtherSuns @Isabelwilkerson #JustMercy #BryanStevenson”↗
Steve Schmidt
“My holiday book recommendations… What are yours?”↗
Su Mohan
“Wow. Such great books. More than half the books are on my favorites list... and I'm in the middle of reading "I know why the caged bird sings" - so worth the time. Desantis has brought FL to a new low.”↗
Rihanna
“Angel. #RIPMayaAngelou The first book I read as a teenager, "I know why the caged bird sings". Felt like we knew her”↗
Richard Branson
Janet Mock
Anya Taylor-Joy
Rupi Kaur
Tyler Wetherall
Nathaniel Drew
John Fish
Amy Cuddy