Piqued by a dare, Angelou approached her first book as an exercise in autobiography as art, a literary achievement which, according to Random House editor Robert Loomis, is virtually impossible. Determined to transcend facts with truth, she concentrates on the Maya character's rationale and thought processes that presaged her adult character, both as woman and survivor. Disclosing her version of the black female's victimization by prejudice and powerlessness, as though creating a fictional character, she champions Maya's ability to compensate for displacement, disparagement, lack of stability, and savagely truncated self-worth.... More
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