August Wilson: A Life

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.

August Wilson wrote a series of ten plays celebrating African American life in the 20th century, one play for each decade. No other American playwright has completed such an ambitious oeuvre. Two of the plays became successful films, Fences, starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis; and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, starring Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman. Fences and The Piano Lesson won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama; Fences won the Tony Award for Best Play, and years after Wilson's death in 2005, Jitney earned a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play.

Through his brilliant use of vernacular speech, Wilson developed unforgettable characters who epitomized the trials and triumphs of the African American experience. He said that he didn't research his plays but wrote from "the blood's memory," a sense of racial history that he believed African Americans shared. Author and theater critic Patti Hartigan traced his ancestry back to slavery, and his plays echo with uncanny similarities to the history of his ancestors. She interviewed Wilson many times before his death and traces his life from his childhood in Pittsburgh (where nine of the plays take place) to Broadway. She also interviewed scores of friends, theater colleagues and family members, and conducted extensive research to tell the story of a writer who left an indelible imprint on American theater and opened the door for future playwrights of color.

Author: Patti Hartigan
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 08/15/2023
Pages: 544
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.6lbs
Size: 9.14h x 6.34w x 1.74d
ISBN: 9781501180668


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal Prepub Alert 03/01/2023 pg. 25
Booklist 06/01/2023 pg. 17
Kirkus Reviews 06/15/2023
Library Journal 07/01/2023 pg. 71
Publishers Weekly 07/17/2023