I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: A BBC Radio 4 Dramatisation

Name: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: A BBC Radio 4 Dramatisation
Rating: 4.170212765957447 (47 reviews)
Author: Maya Angelou
ISBN: 9780553279375

by Maya Angelou

4.2

(47 ratings)

Maya Angelou's Autobiography #1246 pages59 editions1993BantamISBN 9780553279375

Biography Young Adult

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About this book

Synopsis: Here is a book as joyous and painful, and 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 first memoir, published in 1969 is a modern American classic beloved worldwide. Sent by their mother to 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." When she journeys at eight to her mother's side in St. Louis, she is attacked by a man many times her age. Years later, in San Francisco, she learns about love for herself-and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. The kindness of others, Maya's 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-now in a beautiful keepsake edition-I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings will touch hearts and change minds as long as people read.

Publication Details

Publisher: Bantam
Published: 1993
Pages: 246
ISBN: 9780553279375
Language: en
Editions: 59

About Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou (born Marguerite Annie Johnson) was an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, and several books of poetry, and was credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees. She became a poet and writer after a series of occupations as a young adult, including fry cook, prostitute, nightclub dancer and performer, cast member of the opera Porgy and Bess, coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and journalist in Egypt and Ghana during the decolonization of Africa. She was an actor, writer, director, and producer of plays, movies, and public television programs. In 1982, she earned the first lifetime Reynolds Professorship of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She was active in the Civil Rights movement, and worked with Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. Source: Wikipedia

Community Reviews

phil★★★★★3/23/2026

It's been awhile since I read this book, but I remember feeling gutted throughout. To hear this story of perseverence of a little girl, facing some of the most atrocious acts throughtout her childhood is both chilling and inspriring. It's a harrowing reminder of the past and how little has actually changed since then.