Her childhood experiences, which included rape at eight years old and a period of muteness, inspired her famous work, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", which was written in 1970. She is best known for her autobiographical books: All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes (1986), The Heart of a Woman (1981), Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas (1976), Gather Together in My Name (1974), and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), which was nominated for the National Book Award. In her massive volumes of poetry are A Brave and Startling Truth (1995), The Comple...

• Word Count: 548
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Maya's first book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, "opens with a primal childhood scene that brings into focus the nature of the imprisoning environment from which the self will seek escape. ... I agree with the author of this website. I think that Maya is an extremely talented author. ... I think Sidonnie Ann Smith is trying to say that her poems and books are so good because she uses a lot of imagery in her writing. ... And although some people don't like her, or her work, I think she is a very talented person....

• Word Count: 588
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Flowers she had the grace of control to appear warm in the coldest of weather she acted just as refined as the white folks," (Angelou, Caged Bird 76-78). ... Throughout my research on Maya, I found many dates and time periods to be conflicting. ... I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the first of the five volume series, published in 1970. ... She produced "Cabaret of Freedom" in 1960, and directed "And Still I Rise" in 1998. ... I can go on writing about Maya and her life experiences for pages on end. ...

• Word Count: 1253
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

Unable to deal with the pain and emotions of these traumatizing experiences, Maya Angelou spent the next five years completely silent, speaking to no one and living with the belief that "my voice killed him; I killed that man, because I told his name. And then I thought I would never speak again, because my voice would kill anyone." ... It was also in this year that Maya Angelo wrote the first of seven autobiographies that have brought her international recognition and acclaim, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings'....

• Word Count: 884
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate