August 26, 2005
August Wilson
I was saddened to read in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune of the terminal illness of playwright August Wilson. Wilson, 60, has reported that he has advanced liver cancer and has three to five months to live.
Wilson recently completed his 10-play cycle about black American life in the 20th century with the production of Radio Golf, which premiered this spring at the Yale Repertory Theatre.
I first met August Wilson when he received an honorary doctorate from Yale in 1988, when my daughter received her master's degree from the Yale School of Drama. I later saw him and spoke with him briefly several times at restaurants on Selby Avenue in St. Paul where he did much of his writing. Wilson lived in St. Paul from 1978-1990 and was a well-known figure in the neighborhood. I felt priviledged to have the opportunity of encountering one of the foremost playwrights of my lifetime.
Wilson recently completed his 10-play cycle about black American life in the 20th century with the production of Radio Golf, which premiered this spring at the Yale Repertory Theatre.
I first met August Wilson when he received an honorary doctorate from Yale in 1988, when my daughter received her master's degree from the Yale School of Drama. I later saw him and spoke with him briefly several times at restaurants on Selby Avenue in St. Paul where he did much of his writing. Wilson lived in St. Paul from 1978-1990 and was a well-known figure in the neighborhood. I felt priviledged to have the opportunity of encountering one of the foremost playwrights of my lifetime.
posted @ 10:40 PM
