I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

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https://www.smore.com/9jrhv-multicultural-biographies

Rationale

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is Maya Angelou’s first autobiographical work.  Written in 1969 by the urging of some of her friends including author James Baldwin and cartoonist Jules Feiffer (Smith).  The story follows a young Margarite from the time she was shipped off to live with her Grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas, through her various moves amongst family members, ending in California with her Father.  The book deals with many issues Angelou had growing up involving identity, racism, rape and freedom through literacy.  The book has been highly acclaimed.  It was nominated for a National Book Award in 1970, has been a Book of the Month Club selection, and in 2011 was on the Time Magazine 100 best and most influential books written in English since 1923.  However, many parents have sought to have the title banned from public and school libraries due to its inclusion of premarital sex, profanity and graphic depiction of rape and racism (Henry).

The BookSnap has a picture of a country story much like the one the main character spent much of her childhood in Stamps, Arkansas.  I included the Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem “Sympathy” due to the fact that Maya Angelou used the line from this poem for the title of her book.  And, because this poem so well illustrates how the main character feels throughout much of her young adult life.  Also, since Paul Laurence Dunbar is a Daytonian (as am I), I like to show off his brilliance as often as possible.  The quote from the book was chosen to show how Margarite felt upon meeting her Mother again after a long separation.  She doesn’t remember Mother Dear as well as her brother and is shy and overwhelmed upon the reintroduction.  This situation is one the main character finds herself over and over as she is shipped between relatives.

Related Read Title	Related Read Author	Category	How Related Read Relates to Initial Title	Why You Would Recommend the Related Read
The Collected Poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar	Paul Laurence Dunbar	Poetry	Paul Laurence Dunbar wrote the poem, “Sympathy” that was used for the title of the book.	Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poetry deals with many of the same theme May Angelou deals with in her writing, especially the theme of racism.  Dunbar was one of the first African-American writers to establish and international reputation.
Gather Together in My Name (1974) Singin’ and Swingin’ and Getting’ Merry Like Christmas (1976) The Heart of a Woman (1981) All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes (1986) A Song Flung Up to Heaven (2002) Mom & Me & Mom (2013)	Maya Angelou	Autobio-graphy	These titles cover many other experiences from Angelou’s youth.  They each have a different style and/or narration but cover similar themes to her first story.	While not as highly acclaimed as I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, these stories cover more of the authors life and cover the time period from WWII to Martin Luther King’s assassination.  And, even though most critics do not regard these titles in as high esteem as the first; Angelou’s writing is still fine story-telling and excellently written.
To Kill a Mockingbird	Harper Lee	Realistic Fiction	Like the title book, this book deals with southern life and racial injustice around the same time period.	Told from a different point of view, from a young semi-affluent white girl.  This classic, highly acclaimed title shows how the main character, Scout, deals with the trial of a wrongly accused black man.
A Raisin in the Sun	Lorraine Hansberry	Play	This play depicts a poor black family finding a way to get by in the inner city much like the character Mama Dear lives in St. Louis.	Even though this play takes place in a slightly different time period, it shows similar circumstances of a black family dealing with how to survive in a mostly white city.  This play was highly acclaimed.  And, I like to get young adults interested in reading and seeing plays.

Reviews

Common Sense Media: “a poignant and poetic account of the author's life up until age 17. Named for the caged-bird image that Lawrence Dunbar used in his poem "Sympathy," the book honestly reveals the cruelty, indignity, and injustice that confined African Americans in the 1930s and '40s -- the cage -- but also celebrates black people's spirit, humor, and courage. Reading Dunbar's poem may offer further insight into this book. Nominated for a National Book Award, this autobiographical work is strong, honest, and beautifully written, but it details some very upsetting personal incidents, including the rape of a very young girl, shocking racial prejudice, and gritty urban life.”

The Washington Post: “This is really some book. This is a memoir of a black girlhood, or childhood, and it is written right from the center of the blackness.  There isn’t any easy, which is to say false line in the book.  The distance, which is everything, is a true as a plumb line.  She is outside and inside at the same time, looking at all of it with double vision, and to understand that you must read about mother’s brothers, Uncle Tutti, Tom and Ira, who are indiscriminately violent, smashing the face of all, regardless of race, religion, or place of national origin.”

References

Angelou, M. (2011). All Gods children need traveling shoes. Paw Prints.

Angelou, M. (2009). Gather together in my name. New York: Random House.

Angelou, M. (1997). I know why the caged bird sings. New York, NY: Bantam Books.

Angelou, M. (2003). Mom & Me & Mom. Random House.

Angelou, M. (2002). Singin and swingin and getting merry like Christmas. London: Virago Press.

Angelou, M. (2008). A song flung up to heaven. London: Virago.

Angelou, M. (2009). The heart of a woman. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks.

Chance, R. (2014) Young adult literature in action: A librarian’s guide. (Second Edition). Denver, CO: Libraries Unlimited.

Dunbar, P. L. (1994). The collected poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar (J. M. Braxton, Ed.). Charlottesville, VA: Univ. Press of Virginia.

Hansberry, L. (2017). A raisin in the sun. Oxford. Benediction Classics.

Henry, P. M. (2001). Maya Angelou: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In D. Jones (Ed.), Censorship: A World Encyclopedia (Vol. 1-4, p. 60). Routledge.

The Hitching Post Country Store [Photograph found in Genuine Kentucky]. (n.d.). Retrieved June 21, 2018, from http://www.genuinekentucky.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/The-Hitching-Post-Country-Store.jpg (Originally photographed 2012)

Just, W. (1970, April 3). A Caged Bird Sings of a Black Childhood. The Washington Post. Retrieved June 21, 2018.

Lee, H. (2018). To kill a mockingbird. S.l.: Harper Collins.

Schultz, B. (2011, May 04). I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Book Review. Retrieved from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/i-know-why-the-caged-bird-sings

Smith, D. (2007, January 23). A Career in Letters, 50 Years and Counting. The New York Times.