Wilson, August
Overview
| Works: | 370 works in 1,137 publications in 7 languages and 57,346 library holdings |
|---|---|
| Genres: | Drama Historical drama Film adaptations Domestic drama Social problem films Historical films History Criticism, interpretation, etc Interviews Tragedies (Drama) |
| Roles: | Author, Author of screenplay, Producer, Interviewee, Bibliographic antecedent, Scenarist, Conceptor, Editor, Author of introduction, Other, Author of afterword, colophon, etc., Dedicatee, Speaker, Director |
| Classifications: | PN1997.85, 812.54 |
Publication Timeline
.
Most widely held works about
August Wilson
- Understanding August Wilson by Mary L Bogumil( )
- May all your fences have gates : essays on the drama of August Wilson by Alan Nadel( )
- August Wilson : completing the twentieth-century cycle by Alan Nadel( )
- The past as present in the drama of August Wilson by Harry Justin Elam( )
- August Wilson by Peter Wolfe( Book )
- August Wilson : a casebook( Book )
- The dramatic vision of August Wilson by Sandra Garrett Shannon( Book )
- The Cambridge companion to August Wilson by C. W. E Bigsby( Book )
- August Wilson and the African-American odyssey by Kim Pereira( Book )
- Aunt Ester's children redeemed : journeys to freedom in August Wilson's ten plays of twentieth-century Black America by Riley Keene Temple( )
- Black manhood in James Baldwin, Ernest J. Gaines, and August Wilson by Keith Clark( Book )
- August Wilson : a literary companion by Mary Ellen Snodgrass( Book )
- August Wilson( Book )
- August Wilson and Black aesthetics by Sandra Garrett Shannon( Book )
- Staging masculinity : male identity in contemporary American drama by Carla J McDonough( Book )
- New messengers : short narratives in plays by Michael Frayn, Tom Stoppard and August Wilson by Tomáš Kačer( )
- August Wilson by August Wilson( Visual )
- Feed your mind : a story of August Wilson by Jen Bryant( Book )
- August Wilson : a research and production sourcebook by Yvonne Shafer( Book )
- Conversations with August Wilson by August Wilson( Book )
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fewer
Most widely held works by
August Wilson
The piano lesson by
August Wilson(
Book
)
54 editions published between 1988 and 2019 in 4 languages and held by 3,521 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
August Wilson has already given the American theater such spell-binding plays about the black experience in 20th-century America as Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning, Fences. In his second Pulitzer Prize-winner, The Piano Lesson, Wilson has fashioned his most haunting and dramatic work yet. At the heart of the play stands the ornately carved upright piano which, as the Charles family's prized, hard-won possession, has been gathering dust in the parlor of Berniece Charles's Pittsburgh home. When Boy Willie, Berniece's exuberant brother, bursts into her life with his dream of buying the same Mississippi land that his family had worked as slaves, he plans to sell their antique piano for the hard cash he needs to stake his future. But Berniece refuses to sell, clinging to the piano as a reminder of the history that is their family legacy. This dilemma is the real "piano lesson," reminding us that blacks are often deprived both of the symbols of their past and of opportunity in the present
54 editions published between 1988 and 2019 in 4 languages and held by 3,521 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
August Wilson has already given the American theater such spell-binding plays about the black experience in 20th-century America as Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning, Fences. In his second Pulitzer Prize-winner, The Piano Lesson, Wilson has fashioned his most haunting and dramatic work yet. At the heart of the play stands the ornately carved upright piano which, as the Charles family's prized, hard-won possession, has been gathering dust in the parlor of Berniece Charles's Pittsburgh home. When Boy Willie, Berniece's exuberant brother, bursts into her life with his dream of buying the same Mississippi land that his family had worked as slaves, he plans to sell their antique piano for the hard cash he needs to stake his future. But Berniece refuses to sell, clinging to the piano as a reminder of the history that is their family legacy. This dilemma is the real "piano lesson," reminding us that blacks are often deprived both of the symbols of their past and of opportunity in the present
Fences : a play by
August Wilson(
Book
)
32 editions published between 1986 and 2016 in English and Undetermined and held by 2,852 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
During the 1950's Troy Maxson struggles against racism and tries to preserve his feelings of pride in himself
32 editions published between 1986 and 2016 in English and Undetermined and held by 2,852 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
During the 1950's Troy Maxson struggles against racism and tries to preserve his feelings of pride in himself
Fences by
Denzel Washington(
Visual
)
50 editions published between 2016 and 2017 in 5 languages and held by 2,827 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
"A working-class African-American father tries to raise his family in the 1950s, while coming to terms with the events of his life."--IMDB
50 editions published between 2016 and 2017 in 5 languages and held by 2,827 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
"A working-class African-American father tries to raise his family in the 1950s, while coming to terms with the events of his life."--IMDB
Ma Rainey's black bottom : a play in two acts by
August Wilson(
Book
)
40 editions published between 1981 and 2020 in 3 languages and held by 2,500 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
In a 1927 recording session in Chicago, Ma Rainey and her band try to avoid being victimized by the white music industry
40 editions published between 1981 and 2020 in 3 languages and held by 2,500 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
In a 1927 recording session in Chicago, Ma Rainey and her band try to avoid being victimized by the white music industry
Joe Turner's come and gone : a play in two acts by
August Wilson(
Book
)
42 editions published between 1986 and 2019 in 3 languages and held by 2,377 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
When Herald Loomis arrives at an African-American Pittsburgh boardinghouse, after seven years' impressed labor on Joe Turner's chain gang, he is a free man--in body
42 editions published between 1986 and 2019 in 3 languages and held by 2,377 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
When Herald Loomis arrives at an African-American Pittsburgh boardinghouse, after seven years' impressed labor on Joe Turner's chain gang, he is a free man--in body
Seven guitars by
August Wilson(
Book
)
42 editions published between 1994 and 2014 in 3 languages and held by 2,125 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
In the spring of 1948, in the still-cool evenings of Pittsburgh's Hill district, familiar sounds fill the air. A rooster crows. Screen doors slam. There's the laughter of friends gathered for a backyard card game rising just above the wail of a mother who has lost her son. And there's the sound of the blues, played and sung by young men and women with little more than a guitar in their hands and a dream in their hearts. August Wilson's Seven Guitars is the sixth chapter in the continuing theatrical saga that explores the hope, heartbreak, and heritage of the African-American experience in the twentieth century. The story follows a small group of friends who gather following the untimely death of Floyd "Schoolboy" Barton, a local blues guitarist on the edge of stardom. Together, they revisit his short life, reminisce about the good times they shared, and discover the unspoken passions and undying spirit that live within each of them
42 editions published between 1994 and 2014 in 3 languages and held by 2,125 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
In the spring of 1948, in the still-cool evenings of Pittsburgh's Hill district, familiar sounds fill the air. A rooster crows. Screen doors slam. There's the laughter of friends gathered for a backyard card game rising just above the wail of a mother who has lost her son. And there's the sound of the blues, played and sung by young men and women with little more than a guitar in their hands and a dream in their hearts. August Wilson's Seven Guitars is the sixth chapter in the continuing theatrical saga that explores the hope, heartbreak, and heritage of the African-American experience in the twentieth century. The story follows a small group of friends who gather following the untimely death of Floyd "Schoolboy" Barton, a local blues guitarist on the edge of stardom. Together, they revisit his short life, reminisce about the good times they shared, and discover the unspoken passions and undying spirit that live within each of them
Two trains running by
August Wilson(
Book
)
40 editions published between 1990 and 2019 in 3 languages and held by 1,688 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
Memphis Lee's diner--and the rest of his block--is scheduled to be torn down, a casualty of the city's renovation project that is sweeping away the buildings of a community, but not its spirit. As they try to fight back, we meet Sterling, the ex-con who embraces the tenets of Malcolm X; Wolf, the bookie who has learned to play by the white man's rules; Risa, a waitress of quiet dignity who has mutilated her legs to distance herself from men; and Holloway, the resident philosopher and fervent believer in the prophecies of a legendary 322-year-old woman down the street, a reminder of their struggle and heritage
40 editions published between 1990 and 2019 in 3 languages and held by 1,688 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
Memphis Lee's diner--and the rest of his block--is scheduled to be torn down, a casualty of the city's renovation project that is sweeping away the buildings of a community, but not its spirit. As they try to fight back, we meet Sterling, the ex-con who embraces the tenets of Malcolm X; Wolf, the bookie who has learned to play by the white man's rules; Risa, a waitress of quiet dignity who has mutilated her legs to distance herself from men; and Holloway, the resident philosopher and fervent believer in the prophecies of a legendary 322-year-old woman down the street, a reminder of their struggle and heritage
Jitney by
August Wilson(
Book
)
35 editions published between 2000 and 2017 in 3 languages and held by 1,545 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
"Set in the 1970s, this richly textured piece follows a group of men trying to eke out a living by driving unlicensed cabs, or jitneys. When the city threatens to board up the business and the boss's son returns from prison, tempers flare, potent secrets are revealed and the fragile threads binding these people together may come undone at last."--Overlookpress.com
35 editions published between 2000 and 2017 in 3 languages and held by 1,545 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
"Set in the 1970s, this richly textured piece follows a group of men trying to eke out a living by driving unlicensed cabs, or jitneys. When the city threatens to board up the business and the boss's son returns from prison, tempers flare, potent secrets are revealed and the fragile threads binding these people together may come undone at last."--Overlookpress.com
Fences by
August Wilson(
Book
)
38 editions published between 1985 and 2019 in 4 languages and held by 1,237 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
This drama takes you into the world of Troy Maxson, former baseball player with the Negro leagues. Troy is now a garbage man who feels his life has been hemmed in by others, but as the story unfolds he is forced to confront his role in the building of his life's fences
38 editions published between 1985 and 2019 in 4 languages and held by 1,237 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
This drama takes you into the world of Troy Maxson, former baseball player with the Negro leagues. Troy is now a garbage man who feels his life has been hemmed in by others, but as the story unfolds he is forced to confront his role in the building of his life's fences
Three plays by
August Wilson(
Book
)
2 editions published in 1991 in English and held by 1,218 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
Contains three plays about twentieth century African-American lives
2 editions published in 1991 in English and held by 1,218 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
Contains three plays about twentieth century African-American lives
King Hedley II by
August Wilson(
Book
)
22 editions published between 2005 and 2008 in English and Swedish and held by 1,176 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
"Set in 1985 in two tenement backyards in Pittsburgh's Hill District, King Hedley II continues playwright August Wilson's monumental cycle of plays chronicling African American life in twentieth century America. An epic tragedy of the common man and the crushing weight of everyday life and our ultimate struggle to regain our sense of community and culture in a crumbling urban society"--Back cover
22 editions published between 2005 and 2008 in English and Swedish and held by 1,176 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
"Set in 1985 in two tenement backyards in Pittsburgh's Hill District, King Hedley II continues playwright August Wilson's monumental cycle of plays chronicling African American life in twentieth century America. An epic tragedy of the common man and the crushing weight of everyday life and our ultimate struggle to regain our sense of community and culture in a crumbling urban society"--Back cover
Gem of the ocean by
August Wilson(
Book
)
20 editions published between 2006 and 2020 in 3 languages and held by 1,154 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
Set in 1904 Pittsburgh, it is chronologically the first work in August Wilson's decade-by-decade cycle dramatizing the African American experience during the 20th century-an unprecedented series that includes the Pulitzer Prize-winning plays Fences and The Piano Lesson. Aunt Esther, the drama's 287-year-old fiery matriarch, welcomes into her Hill District home Solly Two Kings, who was born into slavery and scouted for the Union Army, and Citizen Barlow, a young man from Alabama searching for a new life
20 editions published between 2006 and 2020 in 3 languages and held by 1,154 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
Set in 1904 Pittsburgh, it is chronologically the first work in August Wilson's decade-by-decade cycle dramatizing the African American experience during the 20th century-an unprecedented series that includes the Pulitzer Prize-winning plays Fences and The Piano Lesson. Aunt Esther, the drama's 287-year-old fiery matriarch, welcomes into her Hill District home Solly Two Kings, who was born into slavery and scouted for the Union Army, and Citizen Barlow, a young man from Alabama searching for a new life
Radio golf by
August Wilson(
Book
)
19 editions published between 2007 and 2018 in English and Swedish and held by 1,005 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
"August Wilson liked to say that his plays were "fat with substance." And he was right: his ten-play cycle - Wilson wrote one for every roiling decade of the African-American experience in the twentieth century - transforms historical tragedy into imaginative triumph. The blues are catastrophe expressed lyrically; so are Wilson's plays, which swing with the pulse of the African-American people, as they moved, over the decades, from property to personhood. Together, Wilson's plays form a kind of fever chart of the unmooring trauma of slavery." "August Wilson died on October 2, 2005. "I've lived a blessed life," he said. "I'm ready." Between the diagnosis, in mid-June, and his death, he had enough time to finish the rewrites of Radio Golf and set up the usual gestation period of out-of-town productions before the Broadway opening - a unique system that Wilson, Richards and his producing partner, Ben Mordecai, had set up as a kind of quality control. Wilson also lived long enough to learn that he would be the first African-American to have a Broadway theater named after him. No one else - not even Eugene O'Neill, who set out in the mid-thirties to write a nine-play cycle and managed only two - had aimed so high and achieved so much. Wilson's plays brought blacks and whites together under the same roof to share in the profound mysteries of race and class and the bittersweet awareness of how separate yet indivisible we really are."--Jacket
19 editions published between 2007 and 2018 in English and Swedish and held by 1,005 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
"August Wilson liked to say that his plays were "fat with substance." And he was right: his ten-play cycle - Wilson wrote one for every roiling decade of the African-American experience in the twentieth century - transforms historical tragedy into imaginative triumph. The blues are catastrophe expressed lyrically; so are Wilson's plays, which swing with the pulse of the African-American people, as they moved, over the decades, from property to personhood. Together, Wilson's plays form a kind of fever chart of the unmooring trauma of slavery." "August Wilson died on October 2, 2005. "I've lived a blessed life," he said. "I'm ready." Between the diagnosis, in mid-June, and his death, he had enough time to finish the rewrites of Radio Golf and set up the usual gestation period of out-of-town productions before the Broadway opening - a unique system that Wilson, Richards and his producing partner, Ben Mordecai, had set up as a kind of quality control. Wilson also lived long enough to learn that he would be the first African-American to have a Broadway theater named after him. No one else - not even Eugene O'Neill, who set out in the mid-thirties to write a nine-play cycle and managed only two - had aimed so high and achieved so much. Wilson's plays brought blacks and whites together under the same roof to share in the profound mysteries of race and class and the bittersweet awareness of how separate yet indivisible we really are."--Jacket
Moving parts : monologues from contemporary plays by
Nina Shengold(
Book
)
1 edition published in 1992 in English and held by 660 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
More than 125 monologues by Mamet, Shepard, August Wilson, and others
1 edition published in 1992 in English and held by 660 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
More than 125 monologues by Mamet, Shepard, August Wilson, and others
The piano lesson(
Visual
)
2 editions published in 2006 in English and held by 544 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning tale of a family caught between their heritage and a dream for the future. The Charles family clashes over the fate of a magnificent, carved piano that carries their family's story from their days as slaves. Boy Willie wants to sell the piano to buy a farm--the same fields their family worked as slaves. But his sister, Berniece, refuses to part with it. For her, the piano is their very soul, a legacy of pride and struggle that symbolizes their survival as a family. To resolve the conflict they must first deal with the past
2 editions published in 2006 in English and held by 544 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning tale of a family caught between their heritage and a dream for the future. The Charles family clashes over the fate of a magnificent, carved piano that carries their family's story from their days as slaves. Boy Willie wants to sell the piano to buy a farm--the same fields their family worked as slaves. But his sister, Berniece, refuses to part with it. For her, the piano is their very soul, a legacy of pride and struggle that symbolizes their survival as a family. To resolve the conflict they must first deal with the past
The ground on which I stand by
August Wilson(
Book
)
11 editions published between 1996 and 2009 in English and held by 509 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
"The Ground on Which I Stand is August Wilson's eloquent and personal call for African American artists to seize the power over their own cultural identity and to establish permanent institutions that celebrate and preserve the singular achievements of African American dramatic art and reaffirm its equal importance in contemporary American culture." "Delivered as the keynote address of Theatre Communication's Group 11th biennial conference in June 1996, this speech refocused the agenda of that conference, and spurred months of debate about cultural diversity in the American theatre, culminating in a standing-room-only public debate at New York City's Town Hall."--Jacket
11 editions published between 1996 and 2009 in English and held by 509 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
"The Ground on Which I Stand is August Wilson's eloquent and personal call for African American artists to seize the power over their own cultural identity and to establish permanent institutions that celebrate and preserve the singular achievements of African American dramatic art and reaffirm its equal importance in contemporary American culture." "Delivered as the keynote address of Theatre Communication's Group 11th biennial conference in June 1996, this speech refocused the agenda of that conference, and spurred months of debate about cultural diversity in the American theatre, culminating in a standing-room-only public debate at New York City's Town Hall."--Jacket
Two trains running : 1969 by
August Wilson(
Book
)
7 editions published between 2007 and 2008 in English and held by 508 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
Paints a portrait of the African-American experience in the changing decade of the 1960s through the lives of restaurant owner Memphis Lee and the people who live in his Pittsburgh block, which is scheduled for demolition
7 editions published between 2007 and 2008 in English and held by 508 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
Paints a portrait of the African-American experience in the changing decade of the 1960s through the lives of restaurant owner Memphis Lee and the people who live in his Pittsburgh block, which is scheduled for demolition
August Wilson : a conversation with August Wilson(
Visual
)
14 editions published between 1988 and 2008 in English and held by 411 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
Playwright August Wilson talks about his roots in the black community, how his plays express the African-American experience, how the African heritage of Black Americans is both expressed and repressed in American society today, and the importance of blues as cultural expression
14 editions published between 1988 and 2008 in English and held by 411 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
Playwright August Wilson talks about his roots in the black community, how his plays express the African-American experience, how the African heritage of Black Americans is both expressed and repressed in American society today, and the importance of blues as cultural expression
Rhapsodies in black : music and words from the Harlem Renaissance(
Recording
)
1 edition published in 2000 in English and held by 351 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
"The only collection in existence documenting the music, art and literature of the new negro of the Harlem Renaissance featuring digitally restored original recordings as well as new readings of renaissance literature plus a book containing rare previously unpublished photos, artwork and writings."
1 edition published in 2000 in English and held by 351 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
"The only collection in existence documenting the music, art and literature of the new negro of the Harlem Renaissance featuring digitally restored original recordings as well as new readings of renaissance literature plus a book containing rare previously unpublished photos, artwork and writings."
August Wilson : the ground on which I stand(
Visual
)
1 edition published in 2015 in English and held by 331 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
Explore the life and legacy of August Wilson, the playwright some call America's Shakespeare, who chronicled the twentieth-century black experience. Features James Earl Jones, Phylicia Rashad, Laurence Fishburne, Viola Davis, new dramatic readings, and rare footage
1 edition published in 2015 in English and held by 331 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
Explore the life and legacy of August Wilson, the playwright some call America's Shakespeare, who chronicled the twentieth-century black experience. Features James Earl Jones, Phylicia Rashad, Laurence Fishburne, Viola Davis, new dramatic readings, and rare footage
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Related Identities
- Nadel, Alan 1947- Author Editor
- Washington, Denzel 1954- Producer Director Author of screenplay Author Actor
- Davis, Viola 1965- Speaker Actor
- Bogumil, Mary L. 1955- Author
- Hornsby, Russell Actor
- Adepo, Jovan Actor
- Macro Media
- Rudin, Scott 1958- Producer
- Rainey, Ma 1886-1939
- Bron Studios
Useful Links
Associated Subjects
African American baseball players African American dramatists African American families African American men African American neighborhoods African Americans African Americans in literature African American theater African American women singers American drama American drama--African American authors American literature American literature--African American authors Blues musicians Boardinghouses Brothers and sisters Collective memory Conflict of generations Domestic drama, American Dramatists, American Ex-convicts Families Fathers and sons Heirlooms Historical drama, American Illinois--Chicago Land tenure Man-woman relationships Masculinity in literature Men in literature Negro leagues Nineteen fifties Nineteen forties Nineteen sixties Nineteen tens Nineteen thirties Nineteen twenties Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh--Hill District Race relations Rainey, Ma, Sanitation workers Sharecroppers Sound--Recording and reproducing Sound recording industry Sound studios Taxicab drivers Theater United States Wilson, August
Covers
Alternative Names
August Wilson
August Wilson Ameerika Ühendriikide näitekirjanik
August Wilson Amerikaans schrijver (1945-2005)
August Wilson amerikansk dramatiker
August Wilson amerikansk skribent
August Wilson drámadóir Meiriceánach
August Wilson dramaturg american
August Wilson dramaturg amerikan
August Wilson dramaturg estatunidenc
August Wilson dramaturge américain
August Wilson dramaturgo estadounidense
August Wilson drammaturgo, scrittore e sceneggiatore statunitense
August Wilson tersero dramaturgo estadounidense
August Wilson US-amerikanischer Dramatiker und Bühnenautor
August Wilson usona dramisto
Kittel Frederick August
Kittel, Frederick August 1945-2005
Knittel, Frederick 1945-2005
Август Уилсон американский драматург
Ավգուստ Վիլսոն ամերիկացի դրամատուրգ
אוגוסט וילסון מחזאי אמריקאי
اوجست ويلسون
أوغست ويلسون كاتب مسرحي أمريكي
آگوست ویلسون نویسنده آمریکایی
오거스트 윌슨 미국의 극작가
ウィルソン, オーガスト
オーガスト・ウィルソン
奥古斯特·威尔逊
奧古斯特·威爾森 美國劇作家
Languages