Univ. of Pittsburgh Acquires August Wilson Archive, Playwright & Pgh Native Son

[appalachiablue]

Last edited Thu Oct 29, 2020, 04:48 AM - Edit history (1)

NEW YORK (AP) — The University of Pittsburgh has acquired the archive of the late playwright and Pittsburgh native son August Wilson, a trove that contains recordings, letters, artwork, poetry, unpublished work and notebooks. The August Wilson Archive will reside in a state-of-the-art home in Hillman Library’s renovated Archives & Special Collections, the university said Thursday. Processing the collection — more than 450 boxes of materials — will start in early 2021.

“This acquisition is about more than bringing August Wilson back home to Pittsburgh,” said Chancellor Patrick Gallagher in a statement. “This archive deftly puts the experiences of Black Americans beneath an intimate magnifying glass and unpacks themes of injustice and inequity that are just as relevant today as when Wilson’s first play debuted.”

Wilson died in October 2005 at the age of 60. He is renowned for the characters he put on stage in an ambitious 10-play cycle, nine of them set in Pittsburgh, that recounted the struggle of Blacks in America. He won two Pulitzers and a Tony and is best known for his plays “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,″ ”Fences″ and “The Piano Lesson.”

Highlights of the archive include hundreds of writing tablets and notebooks which contain drafts of dialogue, poetry, artwork and other writing. There are also draft scripts and correspondence with friends and collaborators, including director Lloyd Richards and Claude Purdy, a close friend and colleague who was crucial to Wilson’s later success. ~

https://apnews.com/article/new-york-august-wilson-plays-patrick-gallagher-poetry-11f945ddf39b2f61ea6e7b467f35b01b



- Playwright August Wilson poses for a portrait at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. on April 7, 2005. The University of Pittsburgh has acquired the archive of the late playwright and Pittsburgh native son August Wilson, a trove that contains recordings, letters artwork, poetry, unpublished work and notebooks. (AP Photo/ Michelle McLoughlin, File)

[brush]

1. Thanks for posting. Love his works.

[appalachiablue]

2. Very gifted artist, I was fortunate to see several of Wilson's plays.

[brush]

3. Same here. "Fences" with James Earl Jones and others.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

4. Ahh, the University of Pittsburgh.

My best friend in the whole world went there in the 1960s. Many decades later I paid a visit to him, and we toured the campus. He took me to the Cathedral of Learning. I'd never even heard of it and I was totally blown away. For those of you, probably most of you, who don't know about it, it's a very tall structure that houses many classrooms which have been decorated/furnished by various other countries. They are all amazing. My friend took me through it and was able to say, "Here is where I had a French class." "Here is where I had a linguistics class." It is truly one of the most amazing educational facilities anywhere. Period. If you had a kid considering Pitt, I'd say, YES! GO THERE!

Okay, so pretty much every college and University has its own special things, but trust me, as someone who has herself attended some six different community colleges and universities, whose sons have collectively attended another seven such, the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning is in a class all by itself.

[murielm99]

5. This is a special place.

I visited there when my daughter was attending Carnegie Mellon. She was preparing for a recital, and told us that the Cathedral of Learning was a great place to visit while she was busy.

We went there near Christmas. All the classrooms were decorated in a manner that showed the country's traditional way of celebrating Christmas. I bought an ornament there.

[Freedomofspeech]

6. I have my graduate degree from Pitt...

I love that they have acquired his archive. They are also working on a Covid vaccine...