Talk:August Wilson

Comments

August Wilson's The Piano Lesson takes on a journey over past years of slavery and settles with the Ghost of stutter as a staple for truth. The piano must stay in the family while the history is repeated for generations to come.

Why reduce the biography

Whe was the information about the start of his career in Minnesota removed? Just curious. Grika Ⓣ 14:35, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

i'm wondering if the information about how Wilson was a awarded a degree from Carnegie Library is correct. I'm doing a research paper on the man, and I didn't see any such findings on any other sources. - Alaska

I had a question about the same thing, the degree. The sentence is ambiguous: it says "they" awarded him a degree. The people who run the library awarded the degree? Can libraries award degrees? What degree was it-- a BA? An honorary degree of some kind?

The obituaries in the New York Times and the Pittsburgh paper disagree on the year that Wilson moved from St Paul to New York. I changed it to New York's date, 1994.

Pulitzer?

Did he win the Pulitzer for something specific, or just his work in general. And when? --Chris Griswold 13:55, 14 June 2006 (UTC)

1987 for Fences' --Chris Griswold 13:57, 14 June 2006 (UTC)

And 1990 for The Piano Lesson - both awards were the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Swango 19:14, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

Removed "Films" section

I removed the following section (quoted in its entirety) because it was contributed by an IP address associated with California Newsreel. Maybe the information should be included somehow, but I don't know. If it is relevant and worthy of inclusion, I leave it to the regular contributors to this article to determine how it should be included and put it back. -- ke4roh 02:21, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

==Films== *[http://www.newsreel.org/nav/title.asp?tc=CN0048-5&s=August%20Wilson "In Black and White, volume 5: August Wilson" distributed by California Newsreel]<br>

About the author

The section below is from Joe Turner's Come and Gone. I removed it because it didn't belong there; it belongs in this article. Please review and merge in any information you think would improve this article.

August Wilson, born Frederick August Kittel, Jr. to Frederick August Kittel, Sr. and Daisy Wilson, was a German and African-American playwright born on April 27, 1945 and died on October 2, 2005. This Pulitzer Prize winner was the author of the ten installment Pittsburgh Cycle, which contained a play for each decade of the 20th century.

In his early years, Wilson lived in the Hill District of Pittsburgh; an economically-depressed area mainly inhabited by African-Americans, Jewish and Italian immigrants. His experiences in this historically under-class area, and Hazelwood, a working-class white-dominated area that he later lived, affected his writings and plays.

After a brief stint in the Army, Wilson returned to Pittsburgh where he worked odd jobs and eventually became a playwright. He opened the Black Horizon Theatre with his friend Rob Penny in the Hill District and later co-founded the Kuntu Writers Workshop for African-American writers.

Wilson is best known for his plays Fences, The Piano Lesson, and Joe Turner’s Come and Gone- all from the Pittsburgh Cycle.

Wilson spent his last days in Seattle, WA, where we worked closely with the Seattle Repertory Theatre (the only theatre to stage all ten plays of his Century Cycle). He died in Seattle at age 60 of liver cancer.

Normally I'd take care of such tasks myself, but I'm really out of my element on this topic. — Frecklefσσt | Talk 12:20, 1 June 2009

I removed a sentence about Mr. Wilson "waiting for his teacher and principal to apologize", after he was accused of plagarizing a paper. This seems to imply that Wilson did something to prove his innocence, which is not mentioned in the article.Mk5384 (talk) 22:38, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

References

Copyright problem

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How was Wilson able to leave the Army after serving one year of a three-year enlistment?

Did he get a hardship discharge? A dishonorable discharge? A "general" discharge -- better than "dishonorable" but lower than the standard "honorable" discharge? Was he discharged for mental or psychological reasons (the slang term was "Section 8")? Someone out there must have that information. (71.22.47.232 (talk) 04:50, 19 February 2011 (UTC))

About August Wilson's father

Official records show that Fred Kittel was married to his first wife, Jenny Jodzis, from 1919 until her death in 1964. It was only then that he married the mother of August Wilson (and his siblings). It is true that Daisy Wilson lived for a while with David Bedford and he became an important model for young August. But while John Lahr claims that when August was twelve "Daisy had divorced Kittel and had taken up with David Bedford...whom she later married" (Honky Tonk Parade, 2005, p. 17), this latter claim has no basis in fact. --Johannes (talk) 13:19, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

Pittsburgh Cycle or American Century Cycle?

The page has been edited recently to refer to the set of plays as the American Century Cycle. I've seen this change reverted by other editors, so I've followed suit, but what are the arguments for/against renaming the cycle? Thanks, Aristophanes68 (talk) 21:50, 26 June 2015 (UTC)

I concur with the reversion Aristophanes68. There are plenty of references to that title out there. According to the info in the article it looks like the Geva Theatre Center first referred to as "The American Century Cycle" when they put on productions of all ten plays from 07 to 11. It should be noted that the new appellation came after Wilson's death. So it was always known as the TPC in his lifetime. Thus, IMO the section should remain with TPC as its section header and in the main references to the plays. OTOH the coverage of the additional title of TACC could be fleshed out with the reasons for the alternate wording at the bottom of that section. If there is sourced info about that of course. MarnetteD|Talk 22:15, 26 June 2015 (UTC)

More about Childhood?

There isn't enough about his childhood there. There needs to be more but I don't have time. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Odell Peterson Landry III (talk • contribs) 16:36, 28 January 2016 (UTC)

I need help making a bot.

How do I make a bot page on here? I have searched and searched and searched and I just cant find it!!! Please help me. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Odell Peterson Landry III (talk • contribs) 17:07, 28 January 2016 (UTC)

The 10 play cycle

This cycle has been referred to by several names over the years. The earliest references use the term The Pittsburgh Cycle. The Century Cycle and The American Century Cycle are appellations that have also been used. I cannot find any use of these last two until after his death so there is no way to know what Mr Wilson will have thought of them. In any event the various names are all covered in the section about them. MarnetteD|Talk 19:46, 21 October 2016 (UTC)

This thread began based on a post to my talk page. I am moving it (as well as the responses) here for further clarification about the situation. MarnetteD|Talk 22:56, 22 October 2016 (UTC)

Hello MarnetteD,

My name is Zoe Wilson, the Assistant to the August Wilson Estate. I'm reaching out to inform you that the official title of Wilson's ten plays is the American Century Cycle. Wilson had a strong belief that his plays were for all Americans, not just those who live in Pittsburgh. In addition, not all ten plays take place in Pittsburgh. Naming the plays the Pittsburgh Cycle on Wikipedia is damaging Wilson's intention for his work. Theatre companies who are producing his work become confused when the Wiki page lists the incorrect title.

Thank you for your time, Zoe — Preceding unsigned comment added by Awestateassistant (talk • contribs) 19:09, 21 October 2016 (UTC)

Wikipedia uses reliable sources when adding info to various articles. The series was originally titled the Pittsburgh Cycle and, later, was renamed the American Cycle. This is explained in the article. You should also read WP:COI. Lastly you should know that I saw all ten plays in their performances at the Denver Center and admire them immensely. MarnetteD|Talk 19:23, 21 October 2016 (UTC)

My mistake on the page mentioning American Cycle. I an in the process of finding a source for that. In doind so it is worth noting that the August Wilson website calls them The Pittsburgh Cycle so his intentions may not be all that you state them to be. MarnetteD|Talk 19:32, 21 October 2016 (UTC)

Barging in here. I'm a fan of Wilson's work as well (as well as Friel - who is also mentioned in the article, and in whose play, "Lovers" I appeared back in the day). The article definitely needs to include the alternate title "American Century Cycle", by which it is known, as well as simply the "Century Cycle". Here's a very recent cite which says that it is an alternate, although not primary title: Cincinnati.com. The August Wilson Theatre still refers to it as the Pittsburgh Cycle, although they give it the alternate title of "Century Cycle": August Wilson Theatre. The Theatre Communications Group clearly labels it the "Century Cycle". Playbill referred to it as the "American Century Cycle" in 2013. And The Greene Space also refers to it as the "American Century Cycle". I can't find anything which discusses the metamorphosis of the name of the play grouping. Alan Nadel, in his 2010 book, called the plays the "Twentieth-Century Cycle", which was in his book's title. But it seems the cycle is most commonly referred to as The Pittsburgh Cycle. The Red Door's bio of Wilson calls it that. Hope this helps. Onel5969 ^{TT me} 23:08, 21 October 2016 (UTC)

Thanks so much for your input Onel5969. I found many of the same sources that you did. I added some info about the various titles with this edit. Any improvements that you can make to that section will be appreciated. MarnetteD|Talk 00:01, 22 October 2016 (UTC)

No worries, Marnette. I think you're breaking out the variants into their own separate sentence works well, shows the varying importance of the different terms. Looks good. Onel5969 ^{TT me} 22:14, 22 October 2016 (UTC)

Awards section

The awards section is only for awards that Wilson was actually presented with. The recent Acadamy Award nomination does not belong there. It is mentioned in the article. If he posthumously wins then it can be added to that section. MarnetteD|Talk 16:50, 28 January 2017 (UTC)

Dates in "Plays" section are messed up

Compare these dates to the earlier chart which is better. How is Fences 1987 (Broadway debut) while Joe Turner is 1984 (1st staged reading)? Etc. I think the date listed for each play in this section should be date of their premiere - 1985 for Fences, 1988 for Joe Turner, etc. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 100.15.191.144 (talk) 03:47, 2 July 2017 (UTC)

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Should Pittsburgh Cycle table be sortable?

As it is now, the cycle for the Pittsburgh Cycle is in chronological order by publication date, with Jitney first and Radio Golf last. I feel it should be possible to sort by publication date (the order it is now) and by chronological order of the cycle, with Gem of the Ocean first and Radio Golf last. Opinions? Allie 849 (talk) 16:28, 26 March 2021 (UTC)

Personal comment

A personal remembrance of Wilson---he and I were the only ones in the room at the time.The only play of his I saw was SEVEN GUITARS.

I usually wait until the end of a long-running play,but I saw the 2nd Broadway performance of GUITARS---which meant Wilson was still there looking things over.

One scene has the family sitting around the radio listening to the second Joe Louis--Billy Conn heavyweight championship fight,and cheering when Louis knocked Conn out in the 8th.But the play takes place in 1948,and the fight took place in 1946.

I pointed the "error" out to Wilson.He said that Joe Louis' appeal was that he got to beat up WHITE MEN and get paid big money for it, and in 1948 Louis only defended against Jersey Joe Walcott,another Black man(and future champ himself).

So he fudged the date of the fight, hoping nobody would notice.I covered club fights for RING MAGAZINE for ten years and I certainly noticed.

Oh,I got his autograph — Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.23.5.11 (talk) 12:42, 23 September 2022 (UTC)

Biography

There is a biography, but I'm not sure where to list it. August Wilson by Patti Hartigan. Simon & Schuster, 9781501180668. Kdammers (talk) 13:42, 25 July 2023 (UTC)

Thank you. I added a Further reading section, with this book as an entry. NOLA1982 (talk) 18:16, 25 July 2023 (UTC)