TOW #17-IRB- "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", by Maya Angelou

My IRB for this marking period is "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", by Maya Angelou. Maya Angelou is a well known author, poet, and civil rights activist. She has written a series of autobiographies, several essays, and poems. She has received many awards and 50 honorary degrees for her work. She has also won a Pulitzer Prize, was nominated for a Tony Award, won three Grammys, the Spingarn Medal, the National Medal of Arts, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She speaks strongly for racial equality and for women's rights. In "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", she discusses her life growing up, and is one of her most well acclaimed books. It is an autobiography discussing the hardships she faced, both as an African American and a woman. I chose this book because I have been told many good things about Maya Angelou's writing, and I wanted to learn more about her. Also, the subjects she speaks on are very powerful, and it is interesting to read her ideas and opinions on these kinds of topics.