August Wilson (1945-2005)

    August Wilson, a famous american playwrite is famous for a set of 10 plays each set in a different decade. Each one describes the lives of African-Americans and how they had to struggle through . His writings were highly influenced because of his childhood. When he was a child, he was the only African-American in his high-school, and he was abused and bullied. He went to 3 high-schools, and eventually dropped out because he was caught plagarizing a paper. This didn't stop his motivation to learn. He started to go to the library daily and read constantly. He was most interested in the works of Langston Hughes and he later actually earned a degree from him teaching himself. Not only did his childhood affect his writings,  but he also looked up to his father, Malcom X, and Elijah Muhammad. He changed his name to his father's after he died in order to show his appreciation for him to his mother. Malcom X's speeches highly influenced August with its motivation and determination for self- sufficiency, and self-defense, and self-deserved rights. Critics of August Wilson believe that he was a very good writer. He explored the black lifestyle and in his plays he illuminates the audience with his humor, dramatic realism, and poetic language. He easily pulls everyone in with his intense writing which made it very difficult to put the novel down. August is one of the best American playwrites known today because of his set of 10 plays.





"August Wilson." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, 04 Apr. 2011. Web. 11 Apr. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Wilson>.
August Wilson Criticism." Enotes. Enotes.com Inc., 2011. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. http://www.enotes.com/contemporary-literary-criticism/wilson-august.

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