Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"

Perhaps more than any other text, Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" helped to establish the audience and the "mainstream" status of the renaissance in black women's writing and thus to pave the way for the future success of Alice Walker, Terry McMillan, Sherley Anne Williams and perhaps even Toni Morrison. This volume is intended for use in the area where Angelou's first autobiography shows a continuing and flourishing readership, especially American autobiography, African-American literature, Women's Studies/Gender Studies and Cross-Cultural Studies. Along with Braxton's introduction and the Claudia Tate interview, the selected essays provide a range of critical approaches to the text.