August Wilson's Pittsburgh Cycle

Sandra G. Shannon is a professor of African American Literature in the English department at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Two seminal books along with numerous chapters, and articles on Wilson have established her as a leading scholar in Wilson Studies. She was a key consultant for and contributor to the highly acclaimed PBS American Masters documentary, August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand (February 2015). She lives in Bowie, Maryland.

“a clearly written, thoroughly researched, and engaging volume that will resonate with teachers, students, and artists...ideal for a classroom setting...powerfully captures Wilson’s agency as a black male writer, his brilliance as an orator, and his deeply rooted concern for the collective well-being of African Americans”—Theatre Topics.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction“The emancipated century”: Remapping History, Reclaiming Memory in August Wilson’s Dramatic Landscapes of the 20th Century—Joyce Hope Scott“A big bend there, a tree by the shore”: Situated Identity in The Janitor—Jacqueline ZeffTwo Trains Running: Bridging Diana Taylor’s “rift” and Narrating Manning Marable’s “living history”—Sarah Saddler and Paul ­Bryant-JacksonWorld War II History/history: Essential Contexts in Seven Guitars—Ellen BondsThe Use of Stereotype and Archetype in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom—Michael DowningGem of the Ocean’s Fugitive Movements—Isaiah Matthew WoodenReclaiming the Mother: Women, Documents and the Condition of the Mother in Gem of the Ocean and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom—Jesslyn ­Collins-FrohlichA Century Lacking Progress: The Fractured Community in Gem of the Ocean and King Hedley II—Christopher B. Bell“He gonna give me my ham”: The Use of Food as a Symbol for Social Justice—Psyche ­Williams-ForsonResurrecting “phantom limb[s] of the dismembered slave and god”: Unveiling the Africanisms in Gem of the Ocean—Artisia GreenEpiphany and the “drama of souls”—Owen SedaConjuring Africa in August Wilson’s Plays—Connie RapooRe-Evaluating the Legacy of the ­Ten-Play Cycle—Susan C.W. AbbotsonAbout the ContributorsIndex