New York: Random House, (1969). First edition, 1st printing. 8vo. 281 pp. Original black cloth-covered boards, stamped in gold, red, in original unclipped ($5.95) dust-jacket. Mild handling, shelf wear to panels and edges - particular to spine crown and foot. White paint smear to spine foot. Protected in archival mylar. Light fading to spine. Book is tight, square and firm. Mild shelf wear to edges with rubbing along the panels - particular to spine crown and foot. Interior clean and unmarked. Previous owner’s bookplate to front paste-down. A few bumps to panel edges and corners. Some light toning and nicks to page edges.

Dust Jacket: Very Good

Hardcover: Very Good

“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a 1969 autobiography describing the young and early years of American writer and poet Maya Angelou. The first in a seven-volume series, it is a coming-of-age story that illustrates how strength of character and a love of literature can help overcome racism and trauma. The book begins when three-year-old Maya and her older brother are sent to Stamps, Arkansas, to live with their grandmother and ends when Maya becomes a mother at the age of 16. In the course of Caged Bird, Maya transforms from a victim of racism with an inferiority complex into a self-possessed, dignified young woman capable of responding to prejudice.”