August Wilson : a life / Patti Hartigan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hartigan, Patti, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Wilson, August.

African American dramatists--20th century--Biography.

African American dramatists.

Dramatists, American.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

531 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Simon & Schuster, 2023.

Summary:

"The first authoritative biography of August Wilson, the most important and successful American playwright of the late 20th century, by a theater critic who knew him"-- Provided by publisher

Wilson's decade-by-decade cycle of ten plays about the African American experience in the twentieth century put Black life center stage, celebrating themes and voices that had been sorely missing from Broadway and regional theaters. Hartigan shows how Wilson's body of work paved the way for a new generation of African American playwrights. She combines interviews with Wilson, his friends, colleagues, and family member to show how Wilson left his indelible imprint on American theater. -- adapted from jacket

Contents:

Prologue

The blood's memory

The crossroads of the world

Something is not always better than nothing

A period of reinvention

A road marked with signposts

Learning to listen

The launchpad of American theater

Living on mother's prayer

A fastball on the outside corner

Shining like new money

What do you do with your legacy?

Pick up the ball

"You a big man"

The ground on which I stand

A master jitney driver

The struggle continues

An uphill battle in the basement

Keeping the tradition alive

Wherever you are, I'm here

Afterword.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 505-508) and index.

Local Notes:

Athenaeum copy: Miller Fund bookplate.

ISBN:

9781501180668

1501180665

OCLC:

1392093869