August Wilson
August Wilson was born on April 27, 1945, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a child, Kittel attended St. Richard's Parochial School. When his parents divorced, he, his mother and his siblings moved from the poor Bedford Avenue area of Pittsburgh to a mostly white suburb in the Oakland section. His mother, Daisy Wilson, was of African-American heritage. His father was a German immigrant named Frederick Kittel.
After dealing with classmates who bullied him, at Central Catholic High School, he transferred to Connelly Vocational High School, and later to Gladstone High School. When he was 15 years old, Wilson pursued an independent education at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, where he would earn his high school diploma. Following his father's death in 1965 Frederick created the pen name "August Wilson"—supposedly an homage to his mother—and declared himself a poet. In 1968, Wilson and a friend, co-founded the Black Horizon Theater. The following year, Wilson married Brenda Burton and together welcomed a daughter, Sakina, in 1970; they divorced two years later. Wilson's first play was Jitney, written in 1979. Fences earned him a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award in 1987. Wilson won another Pulitzer Prize in 1990, for The Piano Lesson. In 1996, Seven Guitars premiered on the Broadway stage, followed by King Hedley II in 2001 and Gem of the Ocean in 2004. Wilson died on October 2, 2005, in Seattle, Washington.
Reviews:
“Here is a man that you can open yourself up to and be filled to bursting,” Rose Maxson
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/nyregion/a-review-of-fences-at-mccarter-theater-center-in-princeton.html
"The dialect of the characters, the hints of jargon, and the references that aren't explained but simply ARE allow us to be immersed in his setting."
http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R3CO7C6VA1HXSO/ref=cm_cr_pr_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1559363029
After dealing with classmates who bullied him, at Central Catholic High School, he transferred to Connelly Vocational High School, and later to Gladstone High School. When he was 15 years old, Wilson pursued an independent education at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, where he would earn his high school diploma. Following his father's death in 1965 Frederick created the pen name "August Wilson"—supposedly an homage to his mother—and declared himself a poet. In 1968, Wilson and a friend, co-founded the Black Horizon Theater. The following year, Wilson married Brenda Burton and together welcomed a daughter, Sakina, in 1970; they divorced two years later. Wilson's first play was Jitney, written in 1979. Fences earned him a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award in 1987. Wilson won another Pulitzer Prize in 1990, for The Piano Lesson. In 1996, Seven Guitars premiered on the Broadway stage, followed by King Hedley II in 2001 and Gem of the Ocean in 2004. Wilson died on October 2, 2005, in Seattle, Washington.
Reviews:
“Here is a man that you can open yourself up to and be filled to bursting,” Rose Maxson
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/nyregion/a-review-of-fences-at-mccarter-theater-center-in-princeton.html
"The dialect of the characters, the hints of jargon, and the references that aren't explained but simply ARE allow us to be immersed in his setting."
http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R3CO7C6VA1HXSO/ref=cm_cr_pr_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1559363029