Radical vision : a biography of lorraine hansberry / Soyica Diggs Colbert.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Colbert, Soyica Diggs, 1979- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Hansberry, Lorraine, 1930-1965--Criticism and interpretation.

Hansberry, Lorraine.

African American dramatists--Biography.

African American dramatists.

African American political activists--20th century--Biography.

African American political activists.

Lesbian dramatists--20th century--Biography.

Lesbian dramatists.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (320 pages) : illustrations

Place of Publication:

New Haven, Connecticut : Yale University Press, [2021]

Summary:

A captivating portrait of Lorraine Hansberry’s life, art, and political activism In this first scholarly biography of Lorraine Hansberry (1930–1965), the author of A Raisin in the Sun, theater professor Soyica Diggs Colbert considers the playwright’s life at the intersection of art and politics, with the theater operating as a “rehearsal room for [her] political and intellectual work.” Colbert argues that the success of Raisin overshadows Hansberry’s other contributions, including the writer’s innovative journalism and lesser known plays touching on controversial issues such as slavery, interracial communities, and black freedom movements. Colbert also details Hansberry’s unique involvement in the black freedom struggles during the Cold War and the early civil rights movement, in order to paint a full portrait of her life and impact. Drawing from Hansberry’s papers, speeches, and interviews, this book presents its subject as both a playwright and a political activist. It also reveals a new perspective on the roles of black women in mid-twentieth-century political movements.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Notes of a Native Daughter

Chapter 1 Practices of Freedom

Chapter 2 The Shaping Force of A Raisin in the Sun

Chapter 3 Origins: Black Radicalism as a Shapeshifting Pursuit

Chapter 4 The Movement

Chapter 5 From Liberals to Radicals

Chapter 6 With Her Mind Stayed on Freedom

Epilogue: Alternative Endings

Notes

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-300-25833-X

9780300258332

OCLC:

1244630349