I know the caged bird sings pdf

Through the insights of leaders of all types--CEOs, elite athletes, cab drivers, custodians, and everyone in between--Dudley helps you understand what your Day One needs to look like, reminds you why you're a leader, and makes clear what you can do about it--starting today, on Day One. Summary : With the continued expansion of the literary canon, multicultural works of modern literary fiction and autobiography have assumed an increasing importance for students and scholars of American literature.

This exciting new series assembles key documents and criticism concerning these works that have so recently become central components of the American literature curriculum.

Each casebook will reprint documents relating to the work's historical context and reception, present the best in critical essays, and when possible, feature an interview of the author. The series will provide, for the first time, an accessible forum in which readers can come to a fuller understanding of these contemporary masterpieces and the unique aspects of American ethnic, racial, or cultural experience that they so ably portray. Perhaps more than any other single text, Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings helped to establish the 'mainstream' status of the renaissance in black women's writing.

This casebook presents a variety of critical approaches to this classic autobiography, along with an exclusive interview with Angelou conducted specially for this volume and a unique drawing of her childhood surroundings in Stamps, Arkansas, drawn by the Angelou herself. Summary : Lyrical and cadent, dramatic and sometimes playful, these poems speak of love, longing, parting; of freedom and shattered dreams; of Saturday-night partying and the smells and sounds of Southern cities.

Summary : Maya Angelou has fascinated, moved, and inspired countless readers with the first three volumes of her autobiography, one of the most remarkable personal narratives of our age.

Now, in her fourth volume, The Heart of a Woman, her turbulent life breaks wide open with joy as the singer-dancer enters the razzle-dazzle of fabulous New York City. There, at the Harlem Writers Guild, her love for writing blazes anew. Her compassion and commitment lead her to respond to the fiery times by becoming the northern coordinator of Martin Luther King's history-making quest. A tempestuous, earthy woman, she promises her heart to one man only to have it stolen, virtually on her weding day, by a passionate African freedom fighter.

Filled with unforgettable vignettes of famous characters, from Billie Holiday to Malcolm X, The Heart of a Woman sings with Maya Angelou's eloquent prose -- her fondest dreams, deepest disappointments, and her dramatically tender relationship with her rebellious teenage son.

Vulnerable, humorous, tough, Maya speaks with an intimate awareness of the heart within all of us. Dedicated to the daughter she never had but sees all around her, Letter to My Daughter transcends genres and categories: guidebook, memoir, poetry, and pure delight. Here in short spellbinding essays are glimpses of the tumultuous life that led Angelou to an exalted place in American letters and taught her lessons in compassion and fortitude: how she was brought up by her indomitable grandmother in segregated Arkansas, taken in at thirteen by her more worldly and less religious mother, and grew to be an awkward, six-foot-tall teenager whose first experience of loveless sex paradoxically left her with her greatest gift, a son.

Like the rest of her remarkable work, Letter to My Daughter entertains and teaches; it is a book to cherish, savor, re-read, and share. You are fat and thin and pretty and plain, gay and straight, educated and unlettered, and I am speaking to you all. Here is my offering to you. Summary : Get your 'A' in gear! They're today's most popular study guides-with everything you need to succeed in school. Consumer demand has been so strong that the guides have expanded to over titles.

And with everything covered--context; plot overview; character lists; themes, motifs, and symbols; summary and analysis, key facts; study questions and essay topics; and reviews and resources--you don't have to go anywhere else!

Summary : 'As is usually the case with most graduation tales, this account focuses on growing up. With greater intensity than ever before, the narrator of the story is confronted with the fact that she is black. A surprising twist to the graduation ceremony helps her see what that fact means to her. Summary : In this third self-contained volume of her autobiography, which began with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou moves into the adult world, and the white world as well, as she marries, enters show business, and tours Europe and Africa in Porgy and Bess.

As the book opens, Maya, in order to support herself and her young son, gets a job in a record shop run by a white woman. Suspicious of almost any kindness shown her, she is particularly confused by the special attentions of a young white customer.

Soon the relationship grows into love and then marriage, and Maya believes a permanent relationship is finally possible. But it is not to be, and she is again forced to look for work. This time she finds a job as a dancer in a sleazy San Francisco bar. Her remarkable talent, however, soon brings her attention of a different kind, and before long she is singing in one of the most popular nightclubs on the coast. From there, she is called to New York to join the cast of Porgy and Bess, which is just about to begin another tour abroad.

This remarkable portrayal of one of the most exciting and talented casts ever put together, and of the encounters between these larger-than-life personalities and audiences who had rarely seen black people before, makes a hilarious and poignant story. The excitement of the journey—full of camaraderie, love affairs, and memorable personalities—is dampened only by Maya's nagging guilt that she has once again abandoned the person she loves most in life, her son.

Back home, and driven close to suicide by her guilt and concern, she takes her son with her to Hawaii, where she discovers that devotion and love, in spite of forced absence, have the power to heal and sustain.

Summary : This dazzling Christmas poem by Maya Angelou is powerful and inspiring for people of all faiths. In this beautiful, deeply moving poem, Maya Angelou inspires us to embrace the peace and promise of Christmas, so that hope and love can once again light up our holidays and the world. Summary : A poem read for the inauguration of President Clinton looks at the history of the country, its problems, and the opportunities that lie ahead.

Preparing and enjoying homemade meals provides a sense of purpose and calm, accomplishment and connection. Now in Hallelujah!

The Welcome Table, Angelou shares memories pithy and poignant—and the recipes that helped to make them both indelible and irreplaceable. Angelou tells us about the time she was expelled from school for being afraid to speak—and her mother baked a delicious maple cake to brighten her spirits. Find books coming soon in Sign in.

Gifts for a Fresh Start. Share: Share on Facebook. Add to Cart. As with all great works of literature, there are some challenges associated with the use of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in the classroom. Although this presents some obstacles for teachers, the attempted censorship of the book only serves to illuminate its most important themes: namely, the power of literature and the power of our own voices, as well as the greater theme of freedom in all of its varieties, and the struggles we undertake in order to preserve it.

The primary concern of this paper will be to examine the position and aspirations of the American Negro in the context of the American dream. This will be done by examining Maya Angelous I know Why the Caged Bird Sings within the constructs of African American history as the author feels that the occurrences at the macro level resound at the micro level and mould the direction of a Foucaultian definition of discourse.

The universality of the word American will be questioned as it implies an overarching umbrella which covers all the peoples living in the nation. James Baldwin posits the question of the real American history which is based on the grounds of the Negro having had none till he came to the Land of Opportunity which helped him better himself and his way of living which proved to be an exemplary way of subjugating and exploiting him. When Maya Angelou started her autobiographical series in with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, she naturally chose her childhood as the organizing principle of her first volume.

The Biggest Books of March. Safe place, young babe in a hotel bar, maybe hot to trot. I soon found that I had some measuring up to do. No more sport shirts and khakis. The amount of evidence against Michael Brewer was overwhelming. He has to keep in touch with the authorities, turn up for appointments with his probation officer. Weekly at first, then at greater intervals. Her gaze wavered and Kate could see her decide that this was not the best way to handle the situation.