Despite the fact that the south was still in the throes of racial prejudice and Stamps was at the forefront of the segregation, the young Maya Angelou appeared to enjoy a loving childhood. A tome that frequently features on banned book lists, I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings addresses issues of rape, racism and molestation, all of which Angelou was privy to during her adolescence and younger years.īorn Marguerite Johnson and often referred to as Ritie by her relatives, we learn about Angelou’s childhood in rural Arkansas where Maya and her older brother Bailey were taken to live with their grandmother following their parents’ divorce. The first in a six-strong series of autobiographies, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a depiction of Angelou’s life as a young girl in Stamps, Arkansas. And yet, it was only when I was at a loose end recently and perusing the shelves of Gertrude & Alice, that I decided to finally tick this much-loved memoir off my ever-expanding reading wish-list.Īs someone who has long been lauded as one of the most important voices of the 21st century, Maya Angelou is as well known for her activism as she was for her writing. How I managed to get to the ripe old age of 33 without reading any of Maya Angelou’s work is entirely beyond me, especially given that I wrote my university dissertation on black women writers.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |