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"Caged Bird" was published in Maya Angelou's 1983 poetry collection Shaker, Why Don't You Sing? The poem describes the opposing experiences between two birds: one bird is able to live in nature as it pleases, while a different caged bird suffers in captivity.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a 1969 autobiography describing the young and early years of American writer and poet Maya Angelou. The first in a seven-volume series, it is a coming-of-age story that illustrates how strength of character and a love of literature can help overcome racism and trauma .
Angelou investigates the effects of systemic segregation and racism on the minds, bodies, and identities of black individuals. In many ways I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings provides readers with a crucial account of the first half of the 20th century from the perspective of a Black southerner.
Born Marguerite Johnson in 1928, she gained fame with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, her 1970 autobiography which speaks courageously of her encounters with racism. One of the best-known writers in America, Angelou read her poem “On the Pulse of the Morning” at the presidential inauguration of Bill Clinton in 1993.
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream. his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing. The caged bird sings with a fearful trill. of things unknown but longed for still. and his tune is heard on the distant hill. for the caged bird sings of freedom.
Important information about Maya Angelou's background, historical events that influenced I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and the main ideas within the work.
I know why the caged bird sings by Maya Angelou. A free bird leaps on the back. Of the wind and floats downstream. Till the current ends and dips his wing. In the orange suns rays. And dares to claim the sky. But a BIRD that stalks down his narrow cage. Can seldom see through his bars of rage. His wings are clipped and his feet are tied.
