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Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas (Maya Angelou's Autobiography #3)

by Maya Angelou

4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 · rating details · 4,109 ratings · 136 reviews

In this third self-contained volume of her autobiography, which began with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou moves into the adult world, and the white world as well, as she marries, enters show business, and tours Europe and Africa in Porgy and Bess.

As the book opens, Maya, in order to support herself and her young son, gets a job in a record shop run by a whit In this third self-contained volume of her autobiography, which began with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou moves into the adult world, and the white world as well, as she marries, enters show business, and tours Europe and Africa in Porgy and Bess.

As the book opens, Maya, in order to support herself and her young son, gets a job in a record shop run by a white woman. Suspicious of almost any kindness shown her, she is particularly confused by the special attentions of a young white customer. Soon the relationship grows into love and then marriage, and Maya believes a permanent relationship is finally possible. But it is not to be, and she is again forced to look for work.

This time she finds a job as a dancer in a sleazy San Francisco bar. Her remarkable talent, however, soon brings her attention of a different kind, and before long she is singing in one of the most popular nightclubs on the coast. From there, she is called to New York to join the cast of Porgy and Bess, which is just about to begin another tour abroad.

The troupe's joyous and dramatic adventure through Italy, France, Greece, Yugoslavia, and Egypt becomes the centerpiece of Singin' and Swingin'. This remarkable portrayal of one of the most exciting and talented casts ever put together, and of the encounters between these larger-than-life personalities and audiences who had rarely seen black people before, makes a hilarious and poignant story. The excitement of the journey -- full of camaraderie, love affairs, and memorable personalities -- is dampened only by Maya's nagging guilt that she has once again abandoned the person she loves most in life, her son.

Back home, and driven close to suicide by her guilt and concern, she takes her son with her to Hawaii, where she discovers that devotion and love, in spite of forced absence, have the power to heal and sustain.

As always, Maya Angelou's writing is charged with that remarkable sense of life and love and unique celebration of the human condition that have won her such a loyal following. ...more

Hardcover , 288 pages

Published May 13th 1997 by Random House (first published 1976)

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Lists with This Book

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora Neale Hurston

Author Biographies and Memoirs

129th out of 165 books — 40 voters

Slice of Americana

37th out of 46 books — 25 voters

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Oct 31, 2009 Donna rated it 3 of 5 stars

As described in her third autobiography, Angelou married Greek sailor Tosh Angelos in 1952; the marriage ended in divorce after three years. Up to that point, she called herself "Marguerite Johnson", or "Rita", but changed her professional name to "Maya Angelou" when her managers at San Francisco nightclub The Purple Onion strongly suggested that she adopt a "more theatrical" name that captured the feel of her Calypso dance performances.
In the late 1950s, she joined the Harlem Writers Guild, whe ...more

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Dec 28, 2009 Urenna Sander rated it 5 of 5 stars

Singin’ and Swingin’ and Gettin’ Merry Like Christmas,” is a fascinating account of Ms. Maya Angelou’s autobiography. And it is only the third volume of five!
In the 1950s, unmarried, in her twenties, and the mother of a young son, she meets her first husband, a Greek American, while working as a salesclerk in a record store, in California. But unfortunately, because of her husband’s controlling behavior and atheism, their marriage ends after a year.
If she was disappointed by the breakup, she do ...more

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Feb 02, 2013 Riya rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: african-american , memoirs

Whew! I am done!

I feel like it took me forever to finish reading this book, and folks, this is not a good sign.

I do feel conflicted. I feel like I should give this a 2.5 because there were so many parts in this book that were dull and uninteresting and if I wouldn't have skimmed through those pages I would've never finished reading this book. But then this is the writing of world famous and much admired Maya Angelou, so I feel compelled to round the rating up to a 3.

While Ms. Angelou's first tw Whew! I am done!

I feel like it took me forever to finish reading this book, and folks, this is not a good sign.

I do feel conflicted. I feel like I should give this a 2.5 because there were so many parts in this book that were dull and uninteresting and if I wouldn't have skimmed through those pages I would've never finished reading this book. But then this is the writing of world famous and much admired Maya Angelou, so I feel compelled to round the rating up to a 3.

While Ms. Angelou's first two memoirs were very engrossing to me and consumed my attention from the first page to the last, this particular one I personally couldn't connect to. It could be, perhaps, that it was just me, so I am not necessarily berating this book, just admitting that it didn't work for me personally.

In this memoir Maya begins her story by describing her experiences as a single young African American mother. Life is certainly difficult for her and she fortunately finds a good-paying and pleasant job working at a record store where she meets a handsome Greek man that asks her to marry him after a few months. It is a great shock to Maya's mother that her daughter accepts the marriage proposal and marries this white man. Domestic bliss doesn't last as long as Maya hopes for and soon the couple is divorced, leaving Clyde (Maya's precious son) devastated that he has lost the only father he has ever known.

The next part in the book I found to be pretty enthralling; this is where Maya describes her experiences dancing in a San Fransisco strip club (where she is the first black dancer) hustling men for overpriced drinks and making the rest of the entertainers mad jealous. That job doesn't last long which is advantageous to Maya because she meets a group of singers that take a liking to her and soon she finds herself part of a singing traveling troupe called Porgy and Bess. The group travels to exotic places from France to Italy to Yugoslavia to Egypt and so on. Now, most of the book is about Ms. Angelou's experiences in dancing and singing and traveling the world, and while it sounds like this should be the most exciting part of the book, it just didn't work for me. I wasn't interested no matter how hard I tried. And that bothered me because Maya's singing adventures are the core of this book. I didn't find any of it interesting: all of the singer' names blended together and became indestinguishable and all of the countries sounded similiar to me.

I think another reader might very much enjoy this book but like I have already mentioned, it just wasn't for me. Overall: 3 out of 5 stars. ...more

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May 28, 2013 Joyce rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This woman blows me away with her honesty, sharing her struggle to grow into the magnificent woman and writer she is today.

I was shocked and surprised at many of her stories and humbled.

Her first 3 autobiographies gave me a view I didn't understand before of what it was and is like to be black in America. These books should be assigned reading in school.

With each famous person I read about, again and again, I am reminded that the person they became was not how they started out nor is it the wh ...more

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Jun 15, 2015 Vorbis rated it 3 of 5 stars

I didn't fall in love with this one, although I appreciate her honesty and insights as always.

In ways the previous books hadn't this brought home to me how very constant the author's awareness is of her colour. It's not just actions of racism, subtle or overt, it's the constant awareness and being on the lookout for it. I was torn between not being able to imagine having that sort of weight on my consciousness constantly, and of starting to feel like it was something I was not actually invited I didn't fall in love with this one, although I appreciate her honesty and insights as always.

In ways the previous books hadn't this brought home to me how very constant the author's awareness is of her colour. It's not just actions of racism, subtle or overt, it's the constant awareness and being on the lookout for it. I was torn between not being able to imagine having that sort of weight on my consciousness constantly, and of starting to feel like it was something I was not actually invited to understand. That perhaps it was a scar too deep to want empathy.

While I don't doubt that that was how Ms Angelou experienced the world, I do doubt at least a little that it was how the world actually was. In the same way that a mafia boss sees the world made up of dangers and schmucks, I think Ms Angelou's world is made up of blacks and whites and rather extreme versions of both. And neither of those views mesh with my person experience of life, which is so much safer and further from the hard edges of the world. I don't see the world as everyone trying to hustle for something, so it's not. I don't notice anyone's race until they mention it to me, because I'm extremely unobservant. The school my son goes to has a background of 79% other than english spoken at home, so I'm dimly aware that there are other races around - it just has no impact on my life. People are just people.

I found being in her worldview at times exhausting. And as always the sheer amount of life she manages to pack into her life - I'm exhausted for her!

When I read the early Anita Blake books, I would get tired by the end of it realizing how many storylines she is packing into a day, and think 'don't you ever sleep??'. I feel that way about Ms Angelou's actual life. Touring France, she would dance in an opera, then perform for an hour at a nightclub, then drive across town and perform an hour in another nightclub. Any single one of these performances would wipe me out. Like Amanda Palmer, she seems to draw energy from crowds.

So I feel inadequate again at how much some people manage to pack into their lives, but it really hammers home the truth that fame is so not for me. ...more

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Jan 10, 2015 Caterina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Despite the book’s light-hearted title, this third installment of Maya’s autobiography is certainly not all happiness. But once again I couldn’t put the book down, and it left me with a kind of buoyancy, a sense of hope. I appreciate the way Maya faces her own life with such honesty and humor — including times when she was far from honest. As she gets older (the book covers her twenties and, I think, early thirties) her self-possession grows. And as interesting as the events of her life surely w Despite the book’s light-hearted title, this third installment of Maya’s autobiography is certainly not all happiness. But once again I couldn’t put the book down, and it left me with a kind of buoyancy, a sense of hope. I appreciate the way Maya faces her own life with such honesty and humor — including times when she was far from honest. As she gets older (the book covers her twenties and, I think, early thirties) her self-possession grows. And as interesting as the events of her life surely were, it’s not so much those events themselves but her handling of them, her sensitive reflection on them, and her masterful, witty storytelling that make this book.

**Spoiler Alert -- starting here

Finding refuge from her loneliness in music, Maya takes a job in a record store, where she meets Tosh Angelos. Amidst dire warnings of certain doom from her mother and black friends, she marries him — a white man. And it’s not long until the marriage begins to dissolve - but not because of race. Married to an atheist, a talented debater who convinces her — not that there is no God, but that she can’t win the argument — “I surrendered. I tucked away the memory of my great-grandmother (who had been a slave), who told me of praying silently under old wash pots, and of secret meetings deep in the woods to praise God. Her owner wouldn’t allow his Negroes to worship God (it might give them ideas) and they did so on pain of being lashed.” While on the surface she tries to be the “perfect” wife by submitting to her husband, secretly she sneaks off to church, where “The spirituals and gospel songs were sweeter than sugar. I wanted to keep my mouth full of them and the sounds of my people singing fell like sweet oil in my ears. When the polyrhythmic hand-clapping began and the feet started tapping, when one old lady in a corner raised her voice to scream ‘O Lord, Lordy Jesus,’ I could hardly keep my seat. The ceremony drove into my body, to my fingers, toes, neck and thighs. My extremities shook under the emotional possession. I imposed my will on their quivering and kept them fairly still. I as terrified that once loose, once I lifted or lost my control, I would rise from my seat and dance like a puppet up and down the aisles. I would open my mouth and screams, shouts and field hollers would tear out my tongue in their rush to be free.” But when Tosh discovers her churchgoing and confronts her with hostility, Maya remains silent and “gives ground.” Eventually, truth of any kind becomes impossible between the couple; they are divorced, and Maya is on her own again as a single mom.

After her divorce, she has the dubious honor of being the first black woman to work in a sleazy joint called the “Garden of Allah” — as a scantily clad dancer — where she is expected to get the customers to buy her drinks between acts. Scornful — and incapable of small talk — she “makes conversation” with the customers by telling them truth — how much she is paid for every drink they buy, and the fact that the “Scotch” they pay for is really only ginger ale. The sassier and more outrageous she becomes, the more drinks they buy. Eventually the other dancers — jealous and suspicious — force her out — but fortunately her talent as a dancer has been “noticed.” From there, she takes the place of a white singer at a hip San Francisco night club, and later moves to New York and joins the cast of Porgy and Bess as a dancer for its international tour. Serious, literary, and romantic, she is deeply moved by the opera — and appalled when the cast members seem to throw off their roles and become frivolous as soon as they leave the stage. She is convinced she can make no friends among such light-minded people.

Yet - she does make friends — and experiences something completely new — loving acceptance by (white) Europeans in Italy and France, and — a highlight of the book — behind the Iron Curtain in Yugoslavia. Living conditions are primitive there, poverty pronounced, and surveillance thoroughgoing — the communist revolution does not appear to have been a success from the Americans’ point of view: "if this is what they got for their revolution, they're due for another" — but the people are passionate in a way the Americans have never seen — bordering on comic. Each actor or actress — including Maya — has at least one admirer who calls on the telephone every day, proclaiming : “I am loving you. I am dying for you. I am throwing myself into the cold river and drowning for you” and so forth. Another actress’s admirer throws himself bodily into the hotel room and has to be dragged out. Although she discovers her “young man” to be not young and seductive (as his telephone voice seems) but a very old (and at least a foot shorter than her six-foot self), when he runs after the train as they are departing, she finds herself moved to tears at his devotion.

Performing next in Athens, then taking a Greek ferry to Egypt, “Mrs. Angelos” is treated with extra-special attention and even sympathy because of her Greek husband — Maya discovers later that the crew mistakenly thinks her a widow, not divorced. The highly anticipated African experience is mixed. Maya is thrilled to set foot on her ancestral continent — yet sees that racial stratification — black servants waiting on white owners and patrons — remains alive in the colonial context. Returning to Europe, eventually the tour wears thin, the tired actors irritable and ready to go home. Maya, continually wracked by guilt for being apart from her son, who has already been traumatized by their long separations in the past, reunites with him and promises that they will never again be separated - she will travel only with him. As this installment ends, she has kept her promise.

It’s very unusual that I feel compelled to read an entire series of books, and something could still happen to put me off before the end — but I’ve already started number four, The Heart of a Woman. Brava, Maya Angelou! ...more

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Aug 12, 2014 Patti rated it 4 of 5 stars

I first read this book in my early 20s, the same age as Maya is as she shares her life as a dancer, singer, actress, mother. I remember her words opening a world of possibilities for me--letting me dream larger than I had allowed myself before. Rereading it 30 years later I recognize her youthful voice. Of course, I was reminded me what an amazing, talented, brilliant, beautiful soul that was Maya Angelou. I also appreciate the wisdom and grace that comes with age--which she continues to share i ...more

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Jun 26, 2014 Laila rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir , read-in-2014 , better-than-i-expected

Oh man, did you know Maya Angelou was a showgirl? Or that she toured with a production of Porgy and Bess throughout Europe and Egypt? Or that her son was named Clyde, but he decided to rename himself Guy and everyone in the family just went along with it? These are the cool things I learned from this memoir of her early twenties. And, of course, she is just a beautiful writer. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

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Jan 04, 2011 Carrie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I enjoyed this book so much better than Gather Together In My Name, but I kinda felt like it started dragging in the middle. No wonder Maya Angelou could write a six part autobiography though, she's lived an amazing life! I love the honest, witty way that she writes, without any embarrassment or explanation. She's been through a lot of bad stuff, but instead of whining about it and justifying everything, she's just like "here's what happened, and if you don't like it, too bad" I really like that ...more

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Jun 28, 2015 Catherine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Part 3 of Maya Angelou's autobiography. Margaurete is finally getting closer to being Maya, the amazing, 'phenomenal' woman she is known to be. In parts 1 and 2, I became really curious about how Maya became Maya. Her life was pretty much a mess. In this book, she takes on her new name and courageously embarks on a foreign adventure as a dancer in the first world tour of 'Porgy and Bess' before audiences who had never seen a group of people 'of color'. She gains self respect, grows as a woman an ...more

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Jul 27, 2014 Thomas DeWolf rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir

In a recent conversation about the writing of Maya Angelou, another writer friend of mine thought you could open an Angelou book to any page and find a brilliant quote on each one. I share her opinion. Since Ms. Angelou's death in late May, I've revisited her writing. I've now completed her first three autobiographies. I find her life's adventures so inspiring; particularly for anyone who has struggled finding their way. As an author, I'm in awe of her use of language to convey meaning. For exam ...more

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Sep 09, 2015 Calzean rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What did Maya Angelou not do in her life? After realising she was on a path of self destruction at the end of her last book, Book 3 starts with her working two jobs to support herself and her son. She gets a better job in a record store, meets an American-Greek sailor who she marries and lives happily for 2 years. In year 3 they are divorced.
She becomes a dancer/entertainer in a strip club. When her success makes her fellow dancers jealous she is forced out and needs to find another job. She st ...more

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Nov 21, 2014 Shirly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Maya Angelou is an interesting and articulate writer who has lived an amazing life. In this book so many of the things she chronicles are almost too much to believe - getting to preform for Eartha Kitt! (amongst other famous celebrities and musicians). But it is her down-to-earth writing and her personal humility that I find engrossing. She doesn't sugarcoat to make it sound better for the reader. She isn't trying to flatter herself. As a single mother who went from having nothing to a respected ...more

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Oct 04, 2014 Rift Vegan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2014

Apparently Maya's whole life is just one amazing story after another! I am setting aside very important things in order to have more reading time for this series.

Maya is still pretty dumb about men, although not to the stupid extent she went to in Gather Together in My Name . I honestly think she should have apologized for the "Was Greek" incident. It was entirely her fault for using imprecise language. But she says she "just couldn't"... I understand her pride, but that guy was just so gentlema ...more

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Feb 22, 2015 Fatima rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Maya Angelou's beauty shines through her writing... When she narrates her life story, you can't help but be transported into her world, feel what she felt.. A phenomenal woman.

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Feb 13, 2015 50 a year rated it 3 of 5 stars

My adventure into the depths of Maya Angelou’s autobiography continues, this time with volume 3. The first volume, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings covers her childhood in Stamps, Arkansas, and the second, Gather Together in My Name follows her first loves and the early years of her son’s life.

In Singin’ and Swingin’ we see a much more emotionally mature and stable Angelou, beginning to forge a career as a singer and dancer in the entertainment industry.

Read the rest of my review on my blog:
http: ...more

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Jan 28, 2008 Joni rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommends it for: teenagers!!!!!

You might think, considering I'd never even heard of Maya Angelou before, let alone read any of her poems, that it was a bit odd I chose to read part of her autobiography, much less the third part of her autobiography.

I was at a booksigning in a library with my aunt, and it was moving kind of slowly, so I wandered over to the books which were being sold off, because the library wasn't in my home town, so I couldn't borrow any books.

I caught sight of Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like C ...more

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Oct 25, 2013 Ellyn Oaksmith rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was mid-way through my epic journey of Maya Angelou's autobiographies and I have to say, it's perfect timing. After the pain of her early teens, the horror of some of her childhood and the book that I am now reading, which is filled with angry racial strife, this book is a beam of sunshine. This is the time in Ms. Angelou's life when she was finding her feet as an entertainer.

Much of the serendipity in her life, as we see later, is her uncanny way of attracting influential people. Of This book was mid-way through my epic journey of Maya Angelou's autobiographies and I have to say, it's perfect timing. After the pain of her early teens, the horror of some of her childhood and the book that I am now reading, which is filled with angry racial strife, this book is a beam of sunshine. This is the time in Ms. Angelou's life when she was finding her feet as an entertainer.

Much of the serendipity in her life, as we see later, is her uncanny way of attracting influential people. Of course this isn't a coincidence. She draws talented people to her stripping performance because she can dance. They offer her a job because she proves she can sing. Much of her life works this way if only because Ms. Angelou is one of them -- highly intelligent, very ambitious and talented.

Her struggle to raise her young son is always at the forefront of the story. In fact, her accumulated guilt at returning home to her bereft son after touring with the show Porgy and Bess in Europe and Africa is one of the best stories in the book. How she deals with it is a life lesson for us all. Hint: it's not therapy.

I'm not going to review her next book. I will say that much of The Heart of a Woman deals with civil rights movement and the anger seeps deep into the story. I had a harder time with this one. Which, perhaps is the point. Another great read but much grittier.

Singin' and Swingin' is the opposite of The Heart of a Woman. It's a woman coming into her power and reveling in it. The way she combines mothering and becoming an entertainer at such a young age is really one of the greatest high wire acts and so fun to read. It seems there isn't an art this woman hasn't conquered. Wait, maybe she never painted. Although, I bet she did.

...more

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Jan 08, 2013 Ape rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biographies-memoirs

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This was a cracking read, perhaps a little more back on form since Gather Together in My Name, although if I had to choose I would still say I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the best of her autobiographies that I've read so far.

This book follows Maya in her twenties and her career in entertainment. She's a young woman trying to figure herself and her life out, and she's got a young son to look after. She has a couple of years married to a Greek guy, but the marriage doesn't work out - seriousl ...more

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Jan 21, 2013 Molly rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is three of four of the Angelou memoirs I'm working my way through. I'm not sure piling up the last trio like this is so wise, as the punchy attitude she has, that I admire(d), can get relentless. She's human though--a mix of humility and pride, which I readily accepted.

I'm not sure what she meant exactly, when she was faced with the decision of bringing her son to Europe or paying for her flight and her replacement's flight:

"Breen and Bob Dustin had offered to send for him and give me an a ...more

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Feb 17, 2015 Tuscany Bernier rated it 2 of 5 stars

I was looking forward to the third installment of this series. It felt like it dragged on for a long time though. I fell asleep reading it several times because of how boring and monotonous it was.

I liked that it explored the feelings of a mother who has chosen a fulfilling career and how she felt leaving her son behind. How she interacted with everybody in Europe and how she coped with her failed marriage to Mr. Angelos, the Greek guy. I found it slightly interesting. :)

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Apr 27, 2014 Jennifer Lauren Collins rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction , african-american-literature , autobiography , memoir , part-of-a-series

Another installment in Maya Angelou's series of autobiographical works, this installment chronicles Angelou's first steps into show business and fame, as well as further discoveries and adventures in her personal relationships. Though it may be a step less emotional and dramatic than the two earlier works in her series, it is just as poetic and telling. Readers of her earlier works will find it a worthwhile read, and a fast one.

Recommended.

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Jan 08, 2014 Ireland Fuller rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2014

This volume is the third installment of her memoir. Ms. Angelou recounts the years after she left Stamps, Ark and moved to San Francisco in the 1950's. She takes us through her time as a dancer at the Purple Onion during Phyllis Diller's headline years. The Purple Onion puts her in contact with the cast of Porgy and Bess and she joins the traveling company and tours Europe. She is unflinchingly honest in her feelings and thoughts on race in the US and in Europe. She brings a poetic quality to he ...more

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Jul 09, 2014 Emilie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 40-in-2014

So far this is the weakest in the series of Maya Angelou's autobiographical series. It rambles quite a bit.

There is not the same care taken with the prose as the first two books. It feels as though "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" was a masterpiece and, when it was a success, she decided to churn more volumes out with less care to storytelling and the melody of prose the first volume had.

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Aug 19, 2011 Ronald Wise rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This one of her series of autobiographical books covers the period of her life in the early 1950s when she goes from being a struggling single mother in San Francisco, to a rather well-known and successful singer and dancer. She joins the troupe producing the Black opera Porgy & Bess as it leaves Canada for a tour of Europe and North Africa, and through her recollections we are able to enjoy the international response to this opera. Maya also reveals her struggle to overcome her deep distrus ...more

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Oct 19, 2011 Therese rated it 5 of 5 stars

(Read 5/2009). 3 of 6 in her autobiographical series. "Singin' and "Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas" takes place during her 20s in the 1950s-60s. This one is much less harsh in content than #2. In this novel she is developing her career, or rather trying to find her career and calling in life. She was a dancer, nightclub singer, and part of the traveling company of Porgy and Bess. This one is a much more fluid and interesting read, and has more of her reflections on life that I love an ...more

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Jan 07, 2009 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

My current love affair of Maya Angelou's memoirs continues. In this book she becomes involved with show business working as both a nightclub singer and eventually in a company of Porgy and Bess that tours Europe. At one point she is even married to a Greek guy. Meanwhile she deals with the guilt of leaving her son as she bops around Europe with the opera company.

I am just fascinated with her life. She has truly had a myriad of experiences. At this point in the memoirs she was still in her 20s, ...more

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Jan 28, 2015 Katelyn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Not my favorite of her memoirs, but still a glorious read. 1950s interactions between races in the L.A. area; I can't believe Maya was such a well-known performer, dancer, singer, actress in "Porgy and Bess". I sort of skipped over that last part though, especially since this is my second reading of the book.

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Sep 16, 2012 Mary-Ellen Lynn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-non-fiction

The third self-contained volume of Maya Angelou's autobiography sees her move into the adult world; she marries, gets started in show business, subsequently touring Europe and Africa with the cast of 'Porgy and Bess'. This book is remarkable especially for the insight it gives into an interesting and talented casts. Guilt of leaving her son at home spurs Maya into the decision to leave the cast and return to America. In a state of despair, instigated by her guilt of neglecting her child, Maya co ...more

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Nov 13, 2014 Mariah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Ms. Angelou has quickly become one of my favorite authors. This was a great follow up for me to I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. She's brilliant and her life is fascinating- and her account of such is of course therefore amazing.

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About Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou, born Marguerite Ann Johnson April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri, was an American poet, memoirist, actress and an important figure in the American Civil Rights Movement. In 2001 she was named one of the 30 most powerful women in America by Ladies Home Journal. Maya Angelou is known for her series of six autobiographies, starting with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, (1969 which was n ...more

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Maya Angelou's Autobiography (6 books)

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Preview — Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas by Maya Angelou

Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas (Maya Angelou's Autobiography #3)

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Preview — Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas by Maya Angelou

Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas (Maya Angelou's Autobiography #3)

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