... Bird Sings, and has amazed many with her provocative and eccentric life style. Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis to Mr. Bailey and Mrs. Vivian Baxter Johnson. Sadly, at the age of three, her parents divorced and Marguerite and her brother, Bailey Jr., who nicknamed her Maya, were sent to live with their father's mother. ... a white world, with blond hair, blue eyes, and she would shudder from the nightmare and hellish thought of being black(Angelou 2). Even from the beginning of the book, racial relations were one of the major themes. The depiction...

• Word Count: 2988
• Approx Pages: 12
• Grade Level: High School

... Angelou was born under the name Marguerita Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri on April 4, 1928. She was raised mostly by her grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. 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: ... 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 T...

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