Published in 1969, Maya Angelou's coming-of-age memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, was an immediate national bestseller and a critical success. On the manuscript page reproduced here, Angelou captures the moment when she and her brother, Bailey, arrived in Arkansas to be raised by their paternal grandmother. Original Art: manuscript draft of Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Era: circa 1969. Region: United States.