<P> Angelou was challenged by her friend, author James Baldwin, and her editor, Robert Loomis, to write an autobiography that was also a piece of literature . Reviewers often categorize Caged Bird as autobiographical fiction because Angelou uses thematic development and other techniques common to fiction, but the prevailing critical view characterizes it as an autobiography, a genre she attempts to critique, change, and expand . The book covers topics common to autobiographies written by Black American women in the years following the Civil Rights Movement: a celebration of Black motherhood; a critique of racism; the importance of family; and the quest for independence, personal dignity, and self - definition . </P> <P> Angelou uses her autobiography to explore subjects such as identity, rape, racism, and literacy . She also writes in new ways about women's lives in a male - dominated society . Maya, the younger version of Angelou and the book's central character, has been called "a symbolic character for every black girl growing up in America". Angelou's description of being raped as an eight - year - old child overwhelms the book, although it is presented briefly in the text . Another metaphor, that of a bird struggling to escape its cage, is a central image throughout the work, which consists of "a sequence of lessons about resisting racist oppression". Angelou's treatment of racism provides a thematic unity to the book . Literacy and the power of words help young Maya cope with her bewildering world; books become her refuge as she works through her trauma . </P> <P> Caged Bird was nominated for a National Book Award in 1970 and remained on The New York Times paperback bestseller list for two years . It has been used in educational settings from high schools to universities, and the book has been celebrated for creating new literary avenues for the American memoir . However, the book's graphic depiction of childhood rape, racism, and sexuality has caused it to be challenged or banned in some schools and libraries . </P> <P> Before writing I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings at the age of forty, Angelou had a long and varied career, holding jobs such as composer, singer, actor, civil rights worker, journalist, and educator . In the late 1950s, she joined the Harlem Writers Guild, where she met a number of important African - American authors, including her friend and mentor James Baldwin . After hearing civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speak for the first time in 1960, she was inspired to join the Civil Rights Movement . She organized several benefits for him, and he named her Northern Coordinator of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference . She worked for several years in Ghana, West Africa, as a journalist, actress, and educator . She was invited back to the US by Malcolm X to work for him shortly before his assassination in 1965 . In 1968, King asked her to organize a march, but he too was assassinated on April 4, which also happened to be her birthday . For many years, Angelou responded to King's murder by not celebrating her birthday, instead choosing to meet with, call, or send flowers to his widow, Coretta Scott King . </P>

I know what the caged bird sings poem