Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry like Christmas

Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry like Christmas
Multi-colored cover of the autobiography with white lettering that reads Maya Angelou Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry like Christmas. The cover resembles a bright yellow stage with curtains in alternating colors of orange, red, purple and dark blue with the white lettering through the top three colors.
AuthorMaya Angelou
LanguageEnglish
GenreAutobiography
Published1976 (Random House, 1st edition)
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardback and paperback)
Pages269 pp (hardcover 1st edition)
ISBN0-394-40545-5 (hardcover 1st edition)
OCLC2213357
790.2/092/4 B
LC ClassPS3551.N464 Z475 1976
Preceded byGather Together in My Name 
Followed byThe Heart of a Woman 

Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry like Christmas is the third book of Maya Angelou's seven-volume autobiography series. Set between 1949 and 1955, the book spans Angelou's early twenties. In this volume, Angelou describes her struggles to support her young son, form meaningful relationships, and forge a successful career in the entertainment world. The work's 1976 publication was the first time an African-American woman had expanded her life story into a third volume.[1] Scholar Dolly McPherson calls the book "a graphic portrait of the adult self in bloom"[2] and critic Lyman B. Hagen calls it "a journey of discovery and rebirth".[3]

In Singin' and Swingin, Angelou examines many of the same subjects and themes in her previous autobiographies including travel, music, race, conflict, and motherhood. Angelou 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. Angelou uses music and musical concepts throughout Singin' and Swingin'; McPherson calls it Angelou's "praisesong" to Porgy and Bess.[4] Angelou's stereotypes about race and race relations are challenged as she interacts more with people of different races. During the course of this narrative, she changes her name from Marguerite Johnson to Maya Angelou for professional reasons. Her young son changes his name as well, from Clyde to Guy, and their relationship is strengthened as the book ends.

  1. ^ Lupton 1998, p. 98.
  2. ^ McPherson 1990, p. 80.
  3. ^ Hagen 1997, p. 95.
  4. ^ McPherson 1990, p. 85.