I know why the Caged Bird Sings

Finally! Today, I just finished a really great book! At a slower than normal pace (as a result of not being on buses as much as usual, and the coincidental phone call while I am trying to read), I finished I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. Now, I didn't know much about Maya Angelou except that she is popular and inspirational to the African-American community, and intimately knows a lot of famous people like Oprah and the Clintons. I had assumed that her book was going to a story of moving up in society despite all racial/gender hinderances, but done in a way that would make me as a white female disconnected. I mean, I have been reading a fair amount of literature recently written by African-Americans about the past tensions (and blatant explotion) of blacks and whites. While, I try my hardest to empathize and associate myself from the protagonist's point of view, I feel that some authors let me in (as an outsider to the culture, the 'race' and the experience) to the story better than others. In this regard, I felt that Maya Angelou did a great job with her autobiography. She was able to portray the racial tensions and stories that she had witnessed in her childhood, but still relate to my experiences and my personal, coming-of-age tale. Alternatively, through my journey with African-American literature I could just be becoming more aware of the injustices and the history, that with each book it becomes to easier to see the narrator's point of view. I apologize if my thoughts are kind of muddled, I have not done much (or basically anything besides a few conference lectures) on racial history or race in general, so I feel like its hard to articulate my thoughts succinctly or in the most correct way possible.

Anyways, I particularly enjoyed the stories from when Maya was living in San Francisco. I also found her perserverance was extremely inspirational. She also notes her mistakes and her flaws and relates those in her book as well. I will definitely read her second part.

My next book choice is Santa Maria. It is a Latino, fictional story (my favorite!) centered around the tale of Eva Peron and what happened to her after death. Besides that, I don't know much about it-so I will let you know how that goes. :)

Alright! Back to work!
Rachel