August Wilson : a literary companion / Mary Ellen Snodgrass.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Snodgrass, Mary Ellen.

Contributor:

Samuel P. Orlando Fund.

Series:

McFarland literary companion series ; 1.

McFarland literary companions ; 1

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Wilson, August--Criticism and interpretation--Handbooks, manuals, etc.

Wilson, August.

Historical drama, American--History and criticism--Handbooks, manuals, etc.

Historical drama, American.

African Americans in literature--Handbooks, manuals, etc.

African Americans in literature.

Criticism and interpretation.

Genre:

Handbooks and manuals.

Physical Description:

ix, 266 pages : genealogical tables ; 26 cm.

Place of Publication:

Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland, [2004]

Summary:

Award-winning African-American playwright August Wilson has created a cultural chronicle of black America through such works as Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Fences, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, The Piano Lesson, and Two Trains Running. The authentic ring of wit, anecdote, homily, and plaint has proved that a self-educated Pittsburgh ghetto native can grow into a revered conduit for a century of black achievement. He forces readers and audiences to examine the despair generated by poverty and racism by exploring African-American heritage and experiences over the course of the twentieth century. This literary companion provides the reader with a source of basic data and analysis of characters, dates, events, allusions, staging strategies, and themes from the work on one of America's finest playwrights. The text opens with an annotated chronology of Wilson's life and works, followed by his family tree. Each of the 166 encyclopedic entries that make up the body of the work combines insights from a variety of sources and includes suggestions for further reading. Appendices provide a timeline of events in Wilson's life and those of his characters, and a list of forty topics for projects, composition, and oral analysis.

Contents:

Wilson's Genealogy 23

August Wilson: A Literary Companion 25

Appendix A Time Line of Hill District Residents and Events 231

Appendix B Writing and Research Topics 237.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 243-254) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Samuel P. Orlando Fund.

ISBN:

0786419032

OCLC:

56024204

Publisher Number:

9780786419036