Autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

A memoir is an autobiography that focuses on a specific period or experience in the writer’s life. An autobiographical narrative describes real events in the writer’s life and shares the lessons or wisdom the writer gained from the experience. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a memoir, written in short autobiographical narrative pieces, of poet, singer, director, and actress Maya Angelou. I. Autobiography Notes

April 4, May 28, 2014 II. Dr. Maya Angelou II. Dr. Maya Angelou

Maya’s real name is Marguerite; she was given the nickname “Maya” by her brother Bailey, who called her “Mya Sister.” Maya is extremely intelligent and loves being in her Grandmother’s Store. Bailey is Maya’s favorite person- he is beautiful and charming. “Momma” is actually the children’s Grandmother, whom Maya’s and Bailey’s parents sent them to live with in the Deep-Southern town of Stamps during the Great Depression when Maya was 3. “Momma” is a very respected and powerful woman- especially considering the extreme racism in the South in the 1930s.

Maya and her brother Bailey spend their early childhood in the South with their grandmother. When Maya is 8, the children’s father comes to visit, stays in Stamps for about three weeks, and then takes the children to California to see their mother. In St. Louis, California Maya and her brother are moved ahead two years in school; become acquainted with their Uncles; and get to know their beautiful Mother.

It is during this period of time that Maya is first molested and then raped by her mother’s boyfriend Mr. Freeman. After the trial, Maya stopped speaking for four years. Maya’s St. Louis family eventually grew tired of her silence and sent Maya and Bailey back to Stamps. Maya remained depressed and mute, but felt much more accepted and loved in Stamps. It is a neighbor named Mrs. Flowers who finally gets Maya to speak again by appealing to Maya’s love of poetry and literature.

Maya went on to have many adventures in her youth, including fighting for and obtaining a job as the first ever African American Cable Car driver.

In the mid-1950s, Angelou's career as a performer began. She performed in many traveling theater plays and released her first album, Miss Calypso.Miss Calypso She ws a member of the Harlem Writers Guild and a civil rights activist. Angelou spent much of the 1960s in other countries; she first lived in Egypt and then in Ghana, working as an editor and a writer. She also held a position as a teacher at the University of Ghana for a time.

After returning to the United States, Angelou was urged by friend and fellow writer to write about her life experiences. This resulted in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which was the first nonfiction best-seller by an African-American woman. After publishing Caged Bird, Angelou continued to break new ground. She became the first African-American woman to have a screenplay produced. She earned a Tony Award nomination and an Emmy Award nomination. Angelou wrote many autobiographies throughout her career, but I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings continues to be regarded as her most popular autobiographical work.

One of Angelou's most famous works is the poem "On the Pulse of Morning," which she wrote especially for and recited at President Bill Clinton's inaugural ceremony in January Angelou won a Grammy Award for best spoken word album for the audio version of this poem. In 1995, Angelou was prasied for remaining on The New York Times' paperback nonfiction best- seller list for two years—the longest-running record in the chart's history. Angelou began to direct movies in1998. She also wrote a number of inspirational essays. Interested in health, Angelou even published cookbooks. Angelou has won many awards for her writing and films.

Martin Luther King Jr., was a close friend of Angelou's and was assassinated on her birthday (April 4) in Angelou stopped celebrating her birthday for years afterward, and sent flowers to King's widow, Coretta Scott King, for more than 30 years. Angelou was also good friends with TV personality Oprah Winfrey, who organized several birthday celebrations for Angelou, including a week-long cruise for her 70th birthday in 1998.

Maya Angelou received a Pulitzer Prize nomination, a Tony Award nomination, and three Grammys for her spoken albums, She served on two presidential committees – for Gerald Ford in 1975 and for Jimmy Carter in In 2000, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Bill Clinton. In 2010, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S., by President Barack Obama. More than thirty health care and medical facilities have been named after Angelou. She was awarded more than fifty honorary doctorate degrees.

After experiencing health issues for a number of years, Maya Angelou died on May 28, 2014, at her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The news of her passing spread quickly, with many people taking to social media to mourn and remember Angelou. Singer Mary J. Blige and politician Cory Booker were among those who tweeted their favorite quotes by her in tribute. President Barack Obama also issued a statement about Angelou, calling her "a brilliant writer, a fierce friend, and a truly phenomenal woman." Angelou "had the ability to remind us that we are all God's children; that we all have something to offer," he wrote. Maya Angelou- Some Final ThoughtsSome Final Thoughts