Reading the Classics: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou

Join us at Kindred Thoughts Bookstore as we launch year three of our flagship book club, Reading the Classics: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou! Dive into the powerful words of Maya Angelou as facilitated by our very own cultural historian, Michelle Black Smith. Let's celebrate her timeless work together. Don't miss this chance to connect over literature and share your thoughts on this iconic piece. See you there!

About Reading the Classics: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou:

Maya Angelou's debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide. Her life story is told in the documentary film And Still I Rise, as seen on PBS's American Masters.

Here is a book as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right. Maya Angelou's debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide.

Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local "powhitetrash." At eight years old and back at her mother's side in St. Louis, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age--and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. Years later, in San Francisco, Maya learns that love for herself, the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors ("I met and fell in love with William Shakespeare") will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned.

Poetic and powerful, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings will touch hearts and change minds for as long as people read.

"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings liberates the reader into life simply because Maya Angelou confronts her own life with such a moving wonder, such a luminous dignity."--James Baldwin

About Michelle Black Smith:

Michelle Black Smith is a writer, curator, educator, and cultural historian. Black Smith specializes in the material culture of the African Diaspora. She is particularly fascinated by the intersection of literature and art as it pertains to African American creative production. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Art History at Princeton University, and her Master’s Degree in Museum Studies at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Kindred Thoughts Bookstore, 1001 Main Street, Bridgeport, United States