Research Project Research Project about about

AUGUST WILSON AUGUST WILSON 

LIT 363-004LIT 363-004Professor WellsProfessor Wells

Examples of his work:•Fences – 1986•The Piano Lesson – 1990•Joe Turner’s Come and Go - 1986

BiographyBiography

• Born on April 27, 1945, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

• Wrote first play, Jitney, in 1979

• Married Judy Oliver in 1981

• Won a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award in 1987 for Fences

• Won another Pulitzer Prize in 1990, for The Piano Lesson

Biography (cont’d)Biography (cont’d)

Divorced Judy Oliver in 1990

His collection entitled Three Plays by August Wilson, was published in book form in 1991.

Two Trains Running premiered in 1992

Married a costume designer called Constanza Romero in 1994

Died of liver cancer on October 2, 2005, in Seattle, Washington.

Concerns regarding ethnic or Concerns regarding ethnic or minority issuesminority issues

• Self-authentication is not possible for African-Americans

• Advocates for amalgamation of ideas and thoughts from all ethnic groups in America

• Reclamation and re-inscription of black cultural legacy into the American society.

Examples from plExamples from playsays

• In his play Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (1991) , August Wilson suggests that without the Reclamation of the African cultural legacy, African Americans cannot self authenticate themselves.

• In his play Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (1991), he dramatizes how the black Americans need to forge their identity into an identity that is African-American.

Three relevant quotes from Three relevant quotes from interviewsinterviews

• “Blacks don’t melt in a pot… Because we are very visible minority… We have a culture.”

• “I am an African, and I can participate in this society as an African”

• “Let’s look at this again and see where we’ve come from and how we’ve gotten where we are now. I think if you know that, it helps determine how to proceed with the future”

Three unique conveThree unique conventions of his ntions of his workwork

• August Wilson was an American playwright and he has lots of wonderful work.

• Among Wilson's great work, some best known plays are;

• Fences - 1985 • Won Pulitzer Prize & Tony Award

• The Piano Lesson - 1990 • Won Pulitzer Prize & New York Drama Critics'

Circle Award. • Joe Turner's Come and Gone - 1986

Recent production of ARecent production of Augustugust Wilson’s “The Piano LeWilson’s “The Piano Lesson”sson”

• This production was done on May 11th, at the Geva Theatre, 75 Woodbury Blvd.

• It explores more significant themes like how balancing of the past and the present can be done and what it means in America to be black.

• The following are the quotes of his work;

• “Can't you see our soul is with this piano?”

• “That's in the past. I want to trade this wood for land. I'm trying to put my mark on the world, live my life my own way,“

• “That's when I discovered the power of death. See, a nigger that ain't afraid to die is the worse kind of nigger for the white man. He can't hold that power over you.”