An edition of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969)

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

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  • 4.1 (33 ratings) ·
  • 980 Want to read
  • 46 Currently reading
  • 59 Have read

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Last edited by ImportBot
December 20, 2023 | History
An edition of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969)

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

  • 4.1 (33 ratings) ·
  • 980 Want to read
  • 46 Currently reading
  • 59 Have read

She was born Marguerite, but her brother Bailey nicknamed her Maya ("mine"). As little children they were sent to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. Their early world revolved around this remarkable woman and the Store she ran for the black community. White people were more than strangers - they were from another planet. And yet, even unseen they ruled.

The Store was a microcosm of life: its orderly pattern was a comfort, even among the meanest frustrations. But then came the intruders - first in the form of taunting poorwhite children who were bested only by the grandmother's dignity. But as the awful, unfathomable mystery of prejudice intruded, so did the unexpected joy of a surprise visit by Daddy, the sinful joy of going to Church, the disappointments of a Depression Christmas.

A visit to St. Louis and the Most Beautiful Mother in the World ended in tragedy - rape. Thereafter Maya refused to speak, except to the person closest to her, Bailey. Eventually, Maya and Bailey followed their mother to California. There, the formative phase of her life (as well as this book) comes to a close with the painful discovery of the true nature of her father, the emergence of a hard-won independence and - perhaps most important - a baby, born out of wedlock, loved and kept.

Superbly told, with the poet's gift for language and observation, and charged with the unforgetable emotion of remembered anguish and love - this remarkable autobiography by an equally remarkable black girl from Arkansas captures, indelibly, a world of which most Americans are shamefully ignorant.

Publish Date
Publisher
Virago Books
Language
English
Pages
320

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Previews available in: English Spanish

Edition Availability
Cover of: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
2009, Random House Trade Paperbacks
in English
Cover of: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
1997, Random House
in English
Cover of: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
1997-06, Bantam Books
in English
Cover of: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
1993, Virago Books
Paperback in English
Cover of: Yo Se Por Que Canta el Pajaro Enjaulado
Yo Se Por Que Canta el Pajaro Enjaulado
1993, Editorial Lumen
Paperback in Spanish
Cover of: I know why the caged bird sings
I know why the caged bird sings
1993-11, Bantam Books
in English - Reissue.
Cover of: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
1973, Random House
in English
Cover of: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
1973, Random House
in English
Cover of: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
1973, Random House
in English
Cover of: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
1973, Random House
in English
Cover of: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
1971-03, Bantam Books
in English

Add another edition?

Book Details


Classifications

Library of Congress
PS3551.N464Z/

The Physical Object

Format
Paperback
Number of pages
320
Dimensions
7.7 x 4.8 x 0.8 inches
Weight
7.8 ounces

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL8306676M
ISBN 10
086068511X
ISBN 13
9780860685111
Library Thing
5134
Goodreads
215575

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History

Download catalog record: RDF / JSON / OPDS | Wikipedia citation
December 20, 2023 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
May 15, 2023 Edited by AgentSapphire //covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/14318965-S.jpg
May 15, 2023 Edited by AgentSapphire ocaid
May 15, 2023 Edited by AgentSapphire Update covers
April 29, 2008 Created by an anonymous user Imported from amazon.com record