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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou's Autobiography, #1)

Maya Angelou

Start date: August 1, 2017

Finish date: August 30, 2017

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Jul 24, 2018 Suzy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: coming-of-age, audio-faves, american-south, autobiography-memoir, listened-to, looking-back-on-life, mia-book-tours

I can't believe I waited this long to read Angelou's memoir of her coming of age, from the ages 3-16. And the way I read it was listening to her tell me her story, as if we were sitting on a front porch somewhere with a glass of lemonade. Many things were difficult to hear, some had me crying and some had me smiling and all written telling it like it was for her. I kept thinking that her experience - tragic, inspiring, unusual, crushing, uplifting - all added up to who she was, a brilliant write ...more

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Sep 23, 2021 Josh Caporale rated it really liked it

I have always had an admiration for Maya Angelou, her presence, and her poetry. I was introduced to her at quite a young age, for she made quite a handful of appearances on Sesame Street. As I grew older, I was introduced to her poetry and recognized the title of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. At first, I thought it was a poem, then a collection of poetry, at one point even a long poem or memoir written in verse. I also recall that Bill Clinton named this as his favorite book of all-time. I ev I have always had an admiration for Maya Angelou, her presence, and her poetry. I was introduced to her at quite a young age, for she made quite a handful of appearances on Sesame Street. As I grew older, I was introduced to her poetry and recognized the title of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. At first, I thought it was a poem, then a collection of poetry, at one point even a long poem or memoir written in verse. I also recall that Bill Clinton named this as his favorite book of all-time. I eventually realized that this was a memoir and Angelou's first, having released it in 1969. This memoir covers Angelou's childhood, beginning with her moving with her brother, Bailey (she was three and he was four), to live with her grandmother (known as Momma) and Uncle Willie in Stamps, Arkansas and concludes with Angelou at the age of seventeen giving birth to her first son, Clyde (though he is not referred to by name in this entire piece. One that knows about Maya Angelou's background will know this, though).

Born as Marguerite Johnson, her brother Bailey referred to her as "Mya" (my little sister, though she became bigger and taller than he) and thus it translated into "Maya." This memoir does a beautiful job collecting and gathering childhood memories of Angelou's and capitalizes on the importance of depicting someone's upbringing throughout the 1930s and 40s during a time of segregation and how Angelou points out as being a moment that when whites and blacks were mixed, white students could show confidence in just answering a question be it right or wrong, while a black student had to be confident and certain that they had the right answer. Angelou covers lighthearted topics such as memories in her Momma's store to more intense topics, such as being raped by her mother (known as Mother)'s boyfriend. This led to a period of silence, but Angelou would regain her voice by a Mrs. Flowers, who introduced her to literature and poetry, which would have a great impact of Angelou's life.

Maya Angelou's memoir is arranged similarly to Night by Elie Wiesel, not in their experiences, which are incredibly different, but in the way that they told their story. Their goal is not to set it up like something you would see on a television show or in a movie in which moments are climactic, but instead recall moments as they happened and to the degree that Angelou found them to be significant in her life and felt should be told. I like this way of recollecting, because I find it to be more raw and natural. I like how Angelou tells us exactly how she feels and while it may require effort to get at what she is saying, with enough thought and empathy, you will know exactly what she is saying and the end result is fulfilling. The way that she introduces a multitude of characters can prove to be heavy at times, but those that have a significant impact flesh out to you the reader.

Maya Angelou has written plenty of memoirs throughout her life, as recent as a memoir called Mom and Me and Mom in 2013 (Angelou died a year later in 2014). Maya Angelou was a beautiful person known most for her poetry, but the way she wrote prose, particularly memoirs and essays, could be equally championed. This was where her memoir writing started and it is probably the most recognized of her memoirs. The name of this memoir takes its name from black poet Paul Laurence Dunbar's poem Sympathy, which in itself harps at the idea that someone that feels a restriction from society wants to do their best to assert their rightful voice within such a society. Angelou has a voice, one that we can learn from, and one that she educates us with by sharing her experiences in what was quite an eventful upbringing. ...more

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