“Oh my goodness, do it if you can,” she has said of growing older. “I mean it.”
The woman who became a literary star with the 1969 publication of “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” turned 86 on Friday and celebrated in the District at her favoriterestaurant, the Bombay Club, for a dinner hosted by a grandson. The following day, Angelou pondered aging once more as the National Portrait Gallery unveiled a large photo-realistic painting of her that will be included in its collection, an that honor brings her further along the road of artistic immortality.
