In a BBC interview with Hermione Lee on November 22, 1998,
Angelou argues that all people write autobiographically. In her
strong, melodic voice, she shares: In truth, everybody writes
autobiographically, whether it's the blue's singer, the gospel
singer, the lyricist for Haden, whether it's the lyricist for
Jimmy Hendrix, the composer tells a truth, he/she confesses…this
is what it is like to be a human being; this is how we wake up
in the morning to find ourselves unloved; this is how we get
through the day. When I first read Maya Angelou's world-
acclaimed memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, I was
14-years-old and unaware that Angelou was one of the world's
most prolific writers. I was aware, however, that Angelou had a
power to connect to me, the reader, as she confessed to what it
felt like to be displaced. In the opening of her memoir, Angelou
writes: "If growing up is painful for the Southern Black girl,
being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that
threatens the throat. It's an unn