Ray W. Howard Library: ENGL&amp; 111: Introduction to Literature: August Wilson

August Wilson's Background

As a playwright, Wilson made some political and social changes by standing up for equality. Read more about August Wilson's personal background and how it ties into his identity as a writer.

August Wilson: A timeline, 1945 – 2005
A synopsis of the playwright's life, compiled by Christopher Rawson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Theater Critic.
August Wilson (Britannica)
Brief biography in the Encyclopedia Britannica.
August Wilson (NEH)
This page describes Wilson's career as a writer. It was published in 1999, when Wilson was awarded the National Humanities Medal for his work. He was still alive at that time and had not yet written the last 2 plays in his Pittsburgh cycle. But it gives a good description of his evolution as an artist and the role that his appreciation for the everyday speech of African Americans played in that evolution.
American Histories: Chasing Dreams And Nightmares; Sailing The Stream Of Black Culture
August Wilson reflects on the meaning of his work in this article originally published on April 23, 2000, in the New York Times. At that time Wilson had completed eight of the ten plays of his monumental cycle of plays, each one documenting one decade of African American life in the 20th century.
The Ground on Which I Stand
In an address to the Theater Communications Group National Conference on June 26, 1996, August Wilson delivers a powerful defense of African American theatre and the need to support the talent it contains. Published in American Theatre in September, 1996.
The Ground on Which He Stood: Revisiting August Wilson’s Speech
In 2016 artists and scholars gathered to hear and reconsider Wilson’s famous speech about race and theatre from 20 years earlier (see the link above for the original speech). This article describes that gathering.
Blues, History, and Dramaturgy: An Interview with August Wilson
This is a long, wide-ranging interview in which the playwright discusses many of his plays and the ideas behind them, and describes his writing process in detail. Originally published in African American Review, Winter 1993.

Eng&111

ENGL&111 - Introduction to Literature

This is a wonderful course for students who are interested in exploring poetry, fiction, drama, and non-fiction as it delves into many different types of literature and gives the student a thorough introduction.

Analysis and Criticism

Literary Criticism of Wilson's Plays

Ghosts on the Piano: August Wilson and the Representation of Black American History
from May All Your Fences Have Gates: Essays on the Drama of August Wilson. This scholarly article discusses the play's connection to African traditions that make the ancestors central to the life of the community, and relates it to Wilson's attempt to portray the specifically African qualities of his African American characters. Probably the best of the scholarly articles I've linked to here.
Call-and-Response: Parallel "Slave Narrative" in August Wilson's The Piano Lesson
This is an in-depth scholarly analysis of The Piano Lesson, arguing that it is structured as a multi-part interaction between different slave narratives, one a narrative of actual slaves and the other the story of Boy Willie, which the author describes as a metaphorical slave narrative, using the technique of call-and-response from African American and African musical forms.
"We's the Leftovers": Whiteness as Economic Power and Exploitation in August Wilson's Twentieth-Century Cycle of Plays
A scholarly article that examines how Wilson uses white characters in his plays to illustrate the imbalance of power between blacks and whites. Includes a substantial discussion of The Piano Lesson.

This Guide is Authored by Davis Oldham

Davis Oldham

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Contact Davis at doldham@shoreline.edu

ENGL& 111: Introduction to Literature: August Wilson

August Wilson's Background

August Wilson's Background

Eng&111

ENGL&111 - Introduction to Literature

Analysis and Criticism

Literary Criticism of Wilson's Plays

This Guide is Authored by Davis Oldham

Davis Oldham

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ENGL& 111: Introduction to Literature: August Wilson

August Wilson's Background

August Wilson's Background

Eng&111

ENGL&111 - Introduction to Literature

Analysis and Criticism

Literary Criticism of Wilson's Plays

This Guide is Authored by Davis Oldham

Davis Oldham

Related Links