August Wilson Biography
August Wilson, born on April 27, 1945, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was a prominent American playwright that chronicled the African American experience with his work. He died on October 2, 2005, in Seattle, Washington. Over his illustrious job, Wilson had actually ended up being popular for his Pittsburgh Cycle, a series of 10 plays, each embeded in a various decade, that collectively represent the lives of African Americans in the 20th century.
Birthed as Frederick August Kittel Jr., he was the fourth of six youngsters to Frederick August Kittel Sr., a German immigrant baker, and also Daisy Wilson, an African-American woman. Wilson grew up in a predominantly black community known as capital District, which would later serve as the background for many of his plays. His father was mainly missing from his life, which led him to embrace his mommy's maiden name, Wilson.
After dealing with racial discrimination in school, Wilson left at the age of 15 as well as proceeded his education and learning via self-study at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. He was a passionate visitor, and his love for literature and also movie theater grew throughout his teenage years. As a budding author, Wilson found inspiration from the similarity
Langston Hughes,
Amiri Baraka, and also
Ralph Ellison, as well as blues music, which heavily affected his plays' motifs as well as personalities.
In the late 1960s, Wilson co-founded the Black Horizon Theatre in Pittsburgh, where he began to create and generate plays. It wasn't until the early 1980s when his career took off with the hosting of "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" at the Yale Repertory Theatre, which available to great acclaim. The play, embeded in the 1920s, focused on the famous blues singer,
Ma Rainey, as well as her band. It transferred to Broadway in 1984 as well as made Wilson his first few Tony Award nominations. Significantly, "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" became the 2nd entry in the Pittsburgh Cycle; before its success, Wilson had penciled the first installment, "Jitney", not yet generated.
Wilson continued to create plays, gathering widespread recognition and also countless awards. His most substantial accomplishments include winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama two times: first for "Fences" (1985), which was later adapted into an Oscar-nominated film starring
Denzel Washington and also
Viola Davis, and after that for "The Piano Lesson" (1990). Both plays also made Tony Awards for Best Play in 1987 and also 1990, specifically. Various other famous operate in the Pittsburgh Cycle consist of "Joe Turner's Come as well as Gone", "Two Trains Running", and "King Hedley II".
Throughout his job, Wilson collaborated with prestigious cinema specialists such as Lloyd Richards, his long-time director, and also noteworthy stars like
James Earl Jones,
Angela Bassett, and also
Charles S. Dutton, who assisted bring his characters to life. Wilson's plays are still generated extensively today and also are regarded as standards of American cinema.
August Wilson's immense contribution to American cinema will certainly be lengthy recalled, as his plays give important insights right into the African American experience in the 20th century. By combining history with aspects of cries, he crafted effective tales and personalities that reverberate with target markets and also continue to motivate brand-new generations of movie theater enthusiasts.
Our collection contains 9 quotes who is written / told by August.
Related authors: Denzel Washington (Actor), Angela Bassett (Actress), Amiri Baraka (Poet), James Earl Jones (Actor), Charles S. Dutton (Actor), Ralph Ellison (Author), Ma Rainey (Musician), Viola Davis (Actress), Langston Hughes (Poet)
August Wilson Famous Works:
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