The F-word discussion

Sorry for the delay in getting these posted this month.

For July we will be reading Maya Angelou's 1969 autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

Who is planning on reading this with us this month? Any initial thoughts from anyone who might have already started or have read it in the past?

I read this in probably my sophomore year of high school, so around 1994. It's been a while and I hope to re-read it. I remember it making quite an impact at the time.

Great, Sisa! I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

I started the audiobook from the library, but without realizing it was abridged. It takes three hours instead of ten - so only 30%. I like it so far, but I probably won't read all the parts I missed.

i noticed that a lot of reviewers are parents upset about their children being required to read a book that has sexual violence and sex. it's an interesting topic, since some people find it vulgar and others may have experienced trauma. is one reason more valid than the other? and what does it mean when we refuse to hear about someone's experience?

Ugh, I dislike abridged books/audiobooks. I wonder what they took out of this one. I always worry I'm missing some important detail with abridgments.

I find it problematic anytime people complain about the material their children are reading in school. I can understand their concerns, but personally speaking I feel it's important to discuss the issues, no matter how uncomfortable they may be. But, then again, I'm also not a parent, so I have little say in the matter. I am, however, glad we had to read this in school.

To answer your other question, Cassandra, about what it means when we refuse to hear about someone's experience - the reason I find a refusal like this concerning is that it diminishes the experiences Angelou (in this case) or others have had and also makes people feel that certain experiences are taboo topics. This then makes it difficult for them to come forward if they find themselves in a similar situation or having any other experience that is not considered "normal".

I haven't been very active with this group, but I adore Maya Angelou and can't wait to join in this month!

I first read parts of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in high school, and I can admit I wasn't in the right head space to really appreciate it. (Plus, we were only reading it because it was February and that always feels kinda weird.)

But I reread it in preparation for my writing my thesis a few years back and really got pulled in. The writing is just so lovely, and I found myself looking at Angelou as a role model not just in writing (I was doing an MFA in creative writing at the time), but also in life. After all that's happened in her life, she's one of those people that I would've forgiven for giving up and settling, but she never did. She seemed to almost always have a backup plan, a new way to rise out of whatever life-gutter she'd fallen into.

El, I agree with your answer to Cassandra's question! And I would add that refusing to hear someone's life experience also limits our ability to relate to others at all. If experiences inform our world views, then not having empathy for someone else's past experiences means you'll never understand where they're coming from in the present. Big possibility that you'll just butt heads instead. How people vote is the example that's really prevalent in my mind right now.

Anywhooo--really excited to reread this! :)

I definitely agree. I think that someone who copes with trauma from sexual assault and might be re-traumatized should be given a warning, and no one should be forced to read something. BUT, it's wrong to tell someone that part of their life is inappropriate. And I do think these upset parents inadvertently send the signal that one should be ashamed and not tell too many people if they are a victim of sexual assault. The point that Ariel made is one I hadn't thought of. I certainly learned a lot from this book and from Janet Mock's memoir. Both gave me insight into how a child might perceive the assault and how it happens and how one might help such a child.

Oh yes, and my favorite part in the audiobook is her 8th grade graduation ceremony. Maya was superb.

I just started re-reading this over my lunch break at work. It's strange because I know we read this in school, but now that it's been over 20 years, it's like I'm reading it for the very first time. Except... I also know what's coming, so I'm entering this reading very carefully, like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. I remember when we read it in school, there were a lot of disclaimers about it being difficult material, but that didn't make nearly as much of an impression on me as Angelou's story did, for good reason. And now, knowing what I'm about to experience, is making it difficult for me to step back into Angelou's world - it's so heartbreaking.

Cassandra wrote: "Oh yes, and my favorite part in the audiobook is her 8th grade graduation ceremony. Maya was superb."

I read this chapter twice, actually, because it made that much of an impression on me. Very powerful.


I finished re-reading this last night.

What's interesting to me, upon a second read, is that the most difficult part about the book is also incredibly brief. It doesn't make it any easier to read, but my high school memory led me to believe that what happened to the author when she was 8 continued throughout the entire book. Of course the ramifications would continue throughout her life, but that didn't always come across in her telling of it in this book.

What I also didn't remember was just how brief a lot of Angelou's descriptions were. Her autobiography covers more than that episode in her childhood - she covers Jim Crow era racism, sexism, family dynamics, and class. But it's all very cursory, with very little emotion. I can't decide if that's because this was Angelou's first book or if, through her life, she used brevity to deal with the things that happened to her.

Still, glad to have re-read it, glad we had to read it in high school, and glad students still have to read and discuss the issues brought up by Angelou. Oprah said in the intro to the edition I read how much this book helped her because of the things she went through very similar to Angelou's experiences - and that's what good literature should do: Reach people, help people, and give people strength where they might not otherwise find it.

If anyone is interested, while doing some research on the book yesterday, I came across 11 facts about I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. I didn't realize the first fact - if she explained that in great detail in the book, I missed it entirely. She talks about the influence Bertha Flowers had on her, which I loved, but I didn't realize (probably means I missed something) that Flowers helped her years later overcome her muteness.