Singin' and swingin' and gettin' merry like Christmas

Maya Angelou's five volumes of autobiography are a testament to the talents and resilience of this extraordinary writer.

Loving the world, she also knows its cruelty. As a black woman she has known discrimination and extreme poverty, but also hope, joy, achievement and celebration.

In this her third marvellous volume, music and her son are the focus of Maya Angelou's life.

She is on the edge of a new world: marriage, show business and a triumphant tour of 'Porgy and Bess'.