The Cambridge Companion to August Wilson (Cambridge Companions to Literature)
Cambridge University Press, 11/29/2007
EAN 9780521685061, ISBN10: 0521685060
Paperback, 242 pages, 22.8 x 15.2 x 1.4 cm
Language: English
One of America's most powerful and original dramatists, August Wilson offered an alternative history of the twentieth century, as seen from the perspective of black Americans. He celebrated the lives of those seemingly pushed to the margins of national life, but who were simultaneously protagonists of their own drama and evidence of a vital and compelling community. Decade by decade, he told the story of a people with a distinctive history who forged their own future, aware of their roots in another time and place, but doing something more than just survive. Wilson deliberately addressed black America, but in doing so discovered an international audience. Alongside chapters addressing Wilson's life and career, and the wider context of his plays, this Companion dedicates individual chapters to each play in his ten-play cycle, which are ordered chronologically, demonstrating Wilson's notion of an unfolding history of the twentieth century.
1. August Wilson
the ground on which he stood Christopher Bigsby
2. Been here and gone John Lahr
3. August Wilson's relationship to black theatre
community, aesthetics, history and race Mary L. Bogumil
4. Music and mythology in August Wilson's plays Kim Pereira
5. Gem of the Ocean and the redemptive power of history Harry J. Elam Jr.
6. Joe Turner's Come and Gone Samuel A. Hay
7. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
cutting the historical record, dramatizing a Blues CD Alan Nadel
8. A piano and its history
family and transcending family Felicia Hardison Londre
9. The tragedy of Seven Guitars Brenda Murphy
10. August Wilson's Fences Matthew Roudané
11. Two Trains Running
blood on the tracks Stephen Bottoms
12. Jitney, folklore and responsibility David Krasner
13. King Hedley II
in the midst of all this death Joan Herrington
14. Radio Golf
the courage of his convictions - survival, success and spirituality Margaret Booker
15. Critics on August Wilson Janice A. and David K. Sauer
An interview with August Wilson Christopher Bigsby.