Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry like Christmas is the third book of a seven-volume autobiography series by Maya Angelou (pictured). Set between 1949 and 1955, the book largely spans her twenties. Angelou describes her struggles to support her young son, form relationships, and forge a career in entertainment. Its 1976 publication was the first time an African-American woman had expanded her life story into a third volume. It was described as "a graphic portrait of the adult self in bloom" and "a journey of discovery and rebirth". In the book, Angelou examines many of the same subjects and themes in her previous autobiographies, including travel, music, race, conflict, and motherhood. She depicts the conflict she felt as a single mother, despite her success as a performer as she travels Europe with the musical Porgy and Bess. Her depictions of her travels, which take up 40 percent of the book, have roots in the African-American slave narrative. (This article is part of a featured topic: Maya Angelou autobiographies.).

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Maya_Angelou_autobiographies

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1100:

Baldwin I was crowned the first king of Jerusalem (depicted) in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldwin_I_of_Jerusalem

1809:

American physician Ephraim McDowell performed the world's first removal of an ovarian tumor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephraim_McDowell

1989:

Romanian Revolution: Communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena were condemned to death on a wide range of charges and executed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_and_execution_of_Nicolae_and_Elena_Ceau%C8%99escu

2009:

A fire destroyed Longford's 19th-century St Mel's Cathedral, considered the "flagship cathedral" of the Irish midlands. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mel%27s_Cathedral

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

jingle bell: A small, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper, which is attached to a horse's harness as a signal, or (music) used as a musical instrument. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jingle_bell

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Someplace between apathy and anarchy is the stance of the thinking human being; he does embrace a cause, he does take a position, and can’t allow it to become business as usual. Humanity is our business.   --Rod Serling https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rod_Serling