Book Club: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou

In the Memoir Mentors Book Club, we explore memoirs through a writer’s lens. We go beyond the surface of the stories. We dissect memoirs, identifying elements we can integrate into our own writing and those we might want to steer clear of. Our discussions center around the strengths and weaknesses of the writing, providing valuable insights for enriching our writer’s toolboxes.

Come on by for insightful conversations, even if you haven’t read the featured book.

This was the first memoir I read, before I really knew anything about the genre, and I was so blown away by it. I am looking forward to rereading it with a writer's lens.

Book club questions can be found here (When I get around to posting them): https://memoirmentors.com/book-club-questions/

This time, we'll be discussing: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.
Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide. Her life story is told in the documentary film And Still I Rise, as seen on PBS’s American Masters.

Here is a book as joyous and painful, 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 debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide.

Sent by their mother to live with 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.” At eight years old and back at her mother’s side in St. Louis, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age—and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. Years later, in San Francisco, Maya learns that love for herself, the kindness of others, her 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, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings will touch hearts and change minds for as long as people read.

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