Maya Angelou is an African-American poet and writer. According to Angelou, her friend and writer James Baldwin had a "covert hand" in getting her to write her autobiography. Baldwin advised Loomis at Random House to use "a little reverse psychology" and Loomis tricked her into writing autobiography by daring her: "It's just as well", he said, "Because to write an autobiography as literature is just impossible." Angelou was unable to resist a challenge, and she began writing, "I know why the caged bird sings." She subsequently wrote six additional autobiographies, covering a variety of her adult experiences. The book's title comes from a poem by African-American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar. The caged bird, a symbol for the chained slave, is an image Angelou uses throughout all her writings.
It tells the story of Marguerite (young Maya Angelou) from three years of age to sixteen years of age. The story is in first person narration by Marguerite. We see young Maya grow from being an insecure girl with inferiority complex to a confident girl. Angelou explores subjects such as racism, rape and literacy through her autobiography. Her writing is simple, lucid and beautiful. Though it is a heart wrenching tale, I am happy to have read Angelou's autobiography.
