Maya Angelou has died. The list of jobs she held over the course of her life is astounding: She became a poet and writer after a series of occupations as a young adult, including fry cook, prostitute, night-club dancer and performer, cast-member of the opera Porgy and Bess, coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and journalist in Egypt and Ghana during the days of decolonization. She was an actor, writer, director, and producer of plays, movies, and public television…

Of all the pitches and submissions we receive at The Toast every week, I'd guess that about eighty-five percent or so are from women. Of those, I'd guess about half are from first-time writers. Of those, I'd guess about half begin with an apology for not pitching properly or having a half-formed idea or for existing in the first place. Which means that every week, a lot of women apologize to me for wanting to…