African American Dramatists
An A-to-Z Guide
- 544 pages
- English
- PDF
- Available on iOS & Android
About This Book
Despite their significant contributions to the American theater, African American dramatists have received less critical attention than novelists and poets. This reference offers thorough critical assessments of the lives and works of African American playwrights from the 19th century to the present. The book alphabetically arranges entries on more than 60 dramatists, including James Baldwin, Arna Bontemps, Ossie Davis, Zora Neale Hurston, and Richard Wright. Each entry is written by an expert contributor and includes a biography, a discussion of major works and themes, a summary of the playwright's critical reception, and primary and secondary bibliographies. The volume closes with a selected, general bibliography. African American dramatists have made enormous contributions to the theater and their works are included in numerous editions and anthologies. Some of the most popular plays of the 20th century have been written by African Americans, and high school students and undergraduates study their works. But for all their popularity and influence, African American playwrights have received less critical attention than poets and novelists. This reference offers thorough critical assessments of more than 60 African American dramatists from the 19th century to the present.
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Table of contents
- Contents
- Preface
- Ira Aldridge (1807β1867)
- James Baldwin (1924β1987)
- Amiri Baraka(1934β )
- Marita Bonner (1898β1971)
- Arna Bontemps (1902β1973)
- William Blackwell Branch (1927β )
- William Wells Brown (1814β1884)
- Elizabeth Brown-Guillory (1954β )
- Ed Bullins(1935β )
- Ben Caldwell (1937β )
- Vinnette Carroll (1922β2002)
- Pearl Cleage (1948β )
- Kathleen Conwell Collins (1942β1988)
- J(oan) California Cooper (?β )
- Kia Corthron(1962β )
- Ossie Davis (1917β )
- Thomas Covington Dent (1932β1998)
- Owen Dodson (1914β1983)
- Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson (1875β1935)
- Lonne Elder III (1931β1996)
- Rudolph Fisher (1897β1934)
- J.e. Franklin (1937β )
- Charles Gordone (1925β1995)
- Shirley Graham (1896β1977)
- Micki Grant (1941β )
- Angelina Weld GrimkΓ© (1880β1958)
- William Harrison Gunn (1934β1989)
- Lorraine Hansberry (1930β1965)
- Leslie Pinckney Hill (1880β1960)
- Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins (1859β1930)
- Langston Hughes (1902β1967)
- Zora Neale Hurston (1891β1960)
- Georgia Douglas Johnson (1880?β1966)
- Samuel L. Kelley (1948β )
- Adrienne Kennedy (1931β )
- May Miller (1899β1995)
- Ron Milner (1938β2004)
- Loften Mitchell (1919β2001)
- Barbara Molette (1940β )
- Richard Bruce Nugent (1906β1987)
- Robert OβHara (1970β )
- OyamO (1943β )
- Suzan-Lori Parks (1964β )
- Louis Stamford Peterson (1922β1998)
- Aishah Rahman (1937β )
- Willis Richardson (1889β1977)
- Sonia Sanchez (1934β )
- Victor Sejour (1817β1874)
- Ntozake Shange(1948β )
- Ted Shine (1931β )
- Anna Deavere Smith (1950β )
- Eulalie Spence (1894β1981)
- Wallace Thurman (1902β1934)
- Eugene (Jean) Pinchback Toomer (1894β1967)
- Joseph A. Walker (1935β )
- Douglas Turner Ward (1930β )
- Samm-Art Williams (1946β )
- August Wilson (1945β )
- Charlayne Woodard (1955β )
- Richard Wright (1908β1960)
- Marvin X (1944β )
- Selected Bibliography
- Index
- About the Contributors