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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the first autobiography of African American writer and poet Maya Angelou. Summary of the Book Maya Angelou grew up with her older brother Bailey. They were taken care of by their paternal grandmother and crippled uncle in Stamps, Arkansas. They were abandoned by their parents and this haunts them throughout their childhood life. Maya writes about the cold and crippling racism she experiences throughout her life. She faces oppression wherever she goes, and is constantly rebuked for the colour of her skin. Her family is constantly humiliated and Maya finds solace only in the pages of books and communication. She is shaped to take on the world by Mrs. Bertha Flowers, and grows into one of the strongest symbols of African American freedom in the twentieth century. About Maya Angelou Marguerite Annie Johnson, better known as Maya Angelou, was an African American author, poet, dancer, actress and singer. She has won several awards, including: the Mother Teresa Award from the St. Bernadette Institute of Sacred Art in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Lincoln Medal by Ford's Theatre for exemplifying the legacy and character embodied by President Abraham Lincoln and the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama. Maya Angelou’s autobiography continues in six other volumes: Gather Together in My Name, Singin’ and Swingin’ and Gettin’ Merry Like Christmas, The Heart of a Woman, All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes, A Song Flung Up to Heaven and Mom & Me & Mom.