Strange Fruit: Plays on Lynching by American Women - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0253211638 ISBN 13: 9780253211637

Publisher: Indiana University Press, 1998

Synopsis

These lynching dramas may not present the picture that America wants to see of itself, but these visions cannot be ignored because they are grounded―not only in the truth of white racism's toxic effect on our national existence but also in the truth that there exists a contesting, collective response that is part of an on-going and continually building momentum." ―Theaatre Journal

A unique, powerful collection worthy of high school and college classroom assignment and discussion." ―Bookwatch

This anthology is the first to address the impact of lynching on U.S. theater and culture. By focusing on women’s unique view of lynching, this collection of plays reveals a social history of interracial cooperation between black and white women and an artistic tradition that continues to evolve through the work of African American women artists. Included are plays spanning the period 1916 to 1994 from playwrights such as Angelina Weld Grimke, Georgia Douglas Johnson, Lillian Smith, and Michon Boston.

About this title

From the Author

Kathy A. Perkins is Associate Professor of Theater at University of Illinois where she heads the Theater Lighting Design Program. She is also the author of Black Female Playwrights: An Anthology of Plays before 1950 and co-editor of Contemporary Plays by Women of Color.
Judith L. Stephens, Associate Professor of Speech Communication at Pennsylvania State University, Schuylkill, serves on the executive Board of the Black Theater Network. She has published articles on women in American theater in African American Review, Theatre Journal, Theatre Annual, Text and Performance Quarterly, and The Journal of American Drama and Theater.

Synopsis

This anthology is the first to address the impact of lynching on U.S. theater and culture. By focusing on women's unique view of lynching, this collection of plays reveals a social history of interracial cooperation between black and white women and an artistic tradition that continues to evolve through the work of African American women artists. This collection includes examples of both one-act and full-length dramas written over a time span of approximately eighty years (1916-1994). Production styles represented range from the early realism of Angelina Weld Grimke's "Rachel" (1916) to the folk drama influences of Georgia Douglas Johnson's "Sunday Morning in the South" (1925), to the experimental techniques of bifurcated characters and multiple narratives found in Endesha Ida Mae Holland's "Miss Ida B. Wells" (1983). Lillian Smith's "Strange Fruit" (1945), based on her controversial and best selling novel, is published here for the first time.Unfamiliar plays by lesser known playwrights such as Corrie Crandall Howell's "The Forfeit" (1925) and recent plays by contemporary playwrights such as Sandra Seaton's "The Bridge Party" (1989) and Michon Boston's "Iola's Letter" (1994) demonstrate the development of the genre and continuation of the tradition.

Introductory essays by the editors provide a historical and critical context for the plays and link them to the wider art world through the work of visual artists, musicians, and choreographers such as Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller, Lois Malou Jones, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Katherine Dunham, and Pearl Primus. Current language usage seems inadequate to express the perspective represented by these plays.What should we call a collection of plays by black and white women addressing the cultural legacy of lynching? Since the plays reflect black women's leadership in the drive for interracial cooperation in the anti-lynching movement, perhaps 'a womanist/feminist drama' best describes this landmark exploration of women's contribution to the American stage.

About this edition

• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0253211638
• ISBN 13: 9780253211637
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 440
• Editor: Perkins Kathy A., Stephens Judith L.