I
Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
In A Nutshell
Allow
us to reveal the recipe for a literary juggernaut. Mix together one part
autobiography, one part romance, and one part adventure. Simmer over adversity
for an hour and filter through the eyes of a precocious young girl who will to
grow up to be one of the most important literary voices alive. And there you
have it: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
Let's
start at the beginning. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was written in 1969 by Maya Angelou. You might have heard of her. She recited poetry at President Bill Clinton's inauguration,
received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama, and dominated the New York Times Bestseller list for two years. You might say she is Very Important People. But Caged Birdcovers Angelou's life before she was a VIP, back
when she was just little ol' Marguerite Johnson from Stamps, Arkansas.
The
novel was released to both critical acclaim and widespread censorship as a new
story about black female life with some majorly frank descriptions of
sexuality. Between Toni Morrison and Oprah, we're pretty used to hearing
stories about awesome black women these days. But at the time, no one had read
anything like Caged Bird. It was kind of like before Avatar when no one made movies in 3D, or before Real World when reality TV hadn't yet conquered the world.
There
are five other books in her series of autobiographies, but Caged Bird introduces us to the themes for which she is now
famous: race, femininity, independence, identity, community, family, and
travel. Oh, and it also shows off her literary chops.
So
how did this fabulous new thing get written? It was a dare. That's right,
Angelou's editor Robert Loomis was trying to get the then-poet to write a book.
When she refused, he said, "It's just as well, because to write an
autobiography as literature is just about impossible" (source). Angelou took the bait and locked herself in a
room with a pen, paper, and a bottle of sherry for two years (source). When she finally
emerged, Caged Bird was by her side. Ta-da!
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