I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings cover art

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

The internationally bestselling classic

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About this listen

 Maya Angelou's six volumes of autobiography are a testament to the talents and resilience of this extraordinary writer. Loving the world, she also knows its cruelty. As a Black woman she has known discrimination and extreme poverty, but also hope, joy, achievement and celebration. In this first volume of her six books of autobiography, Maya Angelou beautifully evokes her childhood with her grandmother in the American south of the 1930s. She learns the power of the white folks at the other end of town and suffers the terrible trauma of rape by her mother's lover.

'I write about being a Black American woman, however, I am always talking about what it's like to be a human being. This is how we are, what makes us laugh, and this is how we fall and how we somehow, amazingly, stand up again' Maya Angelou©1969 Maya Angelou Art & Literature Authors Entertainment & Celebrities Women Celebrity Inspiring Heartfelt Thought-Provoking Funny

Critic reviews

A brilliant writer, a fierce friend and a truly phenomenal woman (President Barack Obama)
The poems and stories she wrote . . . were gifts of wisdom and wit, courage and grace (President Bill Clinton)
She moved through the world with unshakeable calm, confidence and a fierce grace . . . She will always be the rainbow in my clouds (Oprah Winfrey)
She was important in so many ways. She launched African American women writing in the United States. She was generous to a fault. She had nineteen talents - used ten. And was a real original. There is no duplicate (Toni Morrison)
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)
A trailblazer in decolonial, anti-racist movements and intersectional feminism, memoirist, poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou is a powerhouse of a woman
Steeped in resilience and grace
One of the most influential biographies of our time
Heartbreaking, beautiful and inspiring in equal measure, a searing insight into an extraordinary life with hope in the wake of extreme trauma . . . a landmark work of literature
All stars
Most relevant
A wonderful and honest account of an amazing woman, told by the woman herself . I can't wait to read her other Autobiographies!!

Beautifully written and spoken

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I found this to be a fascinating insight into a very different world from mine. Maya Angelou is a beautiful writer and I enjoyed and admired her depiction of her early years growing up in the "deep south" and the west coast of America, in particular, the honesty with which she approached child rape and teenage pregnancy.

Captivating insight into Maya's life

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Just wonderful to hear Maya read her wonderful book. Rest peacefully Maya. You leave behind so much to be proud of. My second read of this book.

Touching and soulful

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A very real description of this lady's young years. very tough but with light. I look forward to reading the next book in the series

very real

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An illuminating narrative of life, in all its trials and triumphs. An illustration of the power of words and the bravery of human heart.

The healing power of love, kindness and time

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