Synopses & Reviews
In Gather Together in My Name Maya Angelou continues her stunning autobiography. By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, passionate and mellow, she fills the pages with both wisdom and wonder as she brings us along in her struggle and dance through life.
About the Author
Poet, writer, performer, teacher and director Maya Angelou was raised in Stamps, Arkansas, and then went to San Francisco. In addition to her bestselling autobiographies, beginning with
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, she has also written five poetry collections, including
I Shall Not Be Moved and
Shaker, Why Don't You Sing?, as well as the celebrated poem "On the Pulse of Morning," which she read at the inauguration of President William Jefferson Clinton.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Reading Group Guide
Memoirist, novelist, poet, and dramatist, Maya Angelou is one of the best-loved writers of our time. She is widely acclaimed for her searing, inspiring writings--and she has been praised for confronting both the racial and sexual pressures on black women, and for infusing her work with a perspective on larger social and political movements, including civil rights.
In the volumes of her bestselling personal story--one of the most remarkable narratives ever shared--Maya Angelou writes about the struggles and triumphs of her extraordinary life with candor, humor, poignancy, and grace. These include:
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
The classic autobiography of her young years.
Gather Together In My Name
The coming-of-age story of her struggle for survival as a young unwed mother.
Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas
The saga of her show business career, her failed marriage, and her early motherhood.
The Heart of a Woman
The turbulent story of her emergence as a writer and a political activist.
Wouldn't Take Nothing For My Journey Now
Her exhilarating collection of wisdom, spirituality, and life lessons.
Memoirist, novelist, poet, and dramatist, Maya Angelou is one of the best-loved writers of our time. She is widely acclaimed for her searing, inspiring writings--and she has been praised for confronting both the racial and sexual pressures on black women, and for infusing her work with a perspective on larger social and political movements, including civil rights.
In the volumes of her bestselling personal story--one of the most remarkable narratives ever shared--Maya Angelou writes about the struggles and triumphs of her extraordinary life with candor, humor, poignancy, and grace. These include:
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
The classic autobiography of her young years.
Gather Together In My Name
The coming-of-age story of her struggle for survival as a young unwed mother.
Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas
The saga of her show business career, her failed marriage, and her early motherhood.
The Heart of a Woman
The turbulent story of her emergence as a writer and a political activist.
Wouldn't Take Nothing For My Journey Now
Her exhilarating collection of wisdom, spirituality, and life lessons.
1. Rita's nonconformity is both a blessing and a curse. How do you think it hurts her--and helps her?
2. What does Rita learn about the stability of human relationships? Does she tend to trust others, or is she suspicious?
3. When Rita is thrown into the adult world, her innocence dies. When and how is her innocence reborn?
4. Rita has a series of unsuccessful relationships with men. She supposes that men leave her because they don't think she needs them badly enough. What about her might make men think this? Do you believe that she truly wanted the relationships; why or why not?
1. Rita's nonconformity is both a blessing and a curse. How do you think it hurts her--and helps her?
2. What does Rita learn about the stability of human relationships? Does she tend to trust others, or is she suspicious?
3. When Rita is thrown into the adult world, her innocence dies. When and how is her innocence reborn?
4. Rita has a series of unsuccessful relationships with men. She supposes that men leave her because they don't think she needs them badly enough. What about her might make men think this? Do you believe that she truly wanted the relationships; why or why not?