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Celebrated writer, artiste, civil rights icon Maya Angelou dies at age 86
Her early adulthood was tumultuous: A single mother at 17, work in a strip club, as a waitress and a cook; running a brothel; marriage and divorce. She was also San Francisco’s first African American female cable-car conductor.
But Angelou’s artistic side soon emerged, and she landed a gig singing in San Francisco’s Purple Onion cabaret. Billie Holliday once sang a sweet lullaby to her son Guy, and gave his mom a back-handed compliment. “You’re going to be famous,” she said. “But it won’t be for singing.”
By the mid-‘50s, Angelous was touring Europe in a production of “Porgy and Bess.” She later studied dance with Graham, and performed with Alvin Ailey. There was even a 1957 Angelou album, “Calypso Lady.” She later captured 3 Grammys for her spoken word albums.
She relocated to Africa in 1960, and met Malcolm X while in Ghana. She took a job with the charismatic leader and returned to the United States. Her breakthrough memoir followed the dark days after the King killing in Memphis.
Baldwin brought the mourning Angelou to a party, which led to an introduction to a Random House editor. Baldwin supported her in the process, and the stunning result was “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” The book covered her life from birth to the birth of her son, Guy.
Her final autobiographical volume, “A Song Flung up to Heaven,” was published in 2002.
Source: Associated Press
