Culture1969–2014

Maya Angelou

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the first autobiography to make the bestseller list — Angelou's voice, both written and spoken, became synonymous with Black American dignity and resilience.

Origin

St. Louis, Missouri

Genre

LiteratureActivism

The Cultural Record

Discography

No entries on record.

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Often Compared To

James Baldwin

Literature / Activism — Harlem, New York · 1953–1987

The greatest American essayist of the 20th century — Baldwin's clarity about race, sexuality, and American mythology was prophetic in the 1960s and becomes more accurate with every passing year.