by Maya Angelou
First time reading this disntinguished poet/author. She penned this autobiography in 1981 but it takes place in late 50s- early 60s. It's 3rd in a series of autobiographys. Ms. Angelou recently spoke at her good friend, Coretta Scott King's funeral; she's still very much an active voice. She's been on Oprah. Yeah, I guess you can say it's a "chick book", but it's not light. The title says it all. I got into Maya's heart, and a tough one it is. She meets a drunken Billie Holiday at the beginning, meets MLK & becomes an active member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference chapter in NYC. She married a South African freedom fighter who was a member of the Pan African Committee. I find her to be a very strong writer, a strong, very passionate woman. She writes poetically (hell, she is a poet afterall) and intelligently. Much female empowerment in this book. She had a tough upbringing and as a young mother, moved her & her son around frequently. In only 3 years or so, she moved from San Francisco to NY to Cairo to Ghana! I was touched by her strong relationship w/her son. She came across as a very maternal, devoted mother who finally has to release her boy into the world once he begins college.
February is Black History month; coincidentally I finished this book in Feb. The book delves into her own experiences with racism and mysogynism. Basically, it's Maya, a strong-willed force to be reckoned with; an independent-minded black woman who doesn't take shit from anyone.
I rate it:
