2 Contemporary Literature, 1970 to Present
The Ground on Which I Stand (New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2001).
An address given at the 1996 Theatre Communications Group national conference
in which Wilson states his concerns about the lack of creative and financial sup-
port for African American artists in theater. The speech resulted in written and live
debates between Wilson and Robert Brustein, drama critic for the New Republic.
Criticism
Christopher Bigsby, ed., The Cambridge Companion to August Wilson (Cambridge,
England: Cambridge University Press, 2007).
Along with chapters addressing Wilson’s life and career and the wider context of
his plays, provides individual chapters analyzing each of the plays in the Decade
Cycle.
Mary L. Bogumil, Understanding August Wilson (Columbia: University of South
Carolina, 1999).
Overview of six plays (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Fences, Joe Turner’s Come and
Gone, The Piano Lesson, Two Trains Running, and Seven Guitars) within the
context of Wilson’s concern with African American dramatic tradition, history,
and identity.
Harry J. Elam Jr., The Past As Present in the Drama of August Wilson (Ann Arbor:
University of Michigan Press, 2004).
Organized around ideas and themes featured in Wilson’s plays, a book-length
analysis of Wilson’s ten-play cycle examining the ways his work intersects with
other African American works published in the 1980s and 1990s.
Marilyn Elkins, ed., August Wilson: A Casebook (New York: Garland, 1994).
A collection of critical essays on diverse topics such as the role of gender, folk
traditions, politics, religion, and influences in Wilson’s plays.
Alan Nadel, ed., May All Your Fences Have Gates: Essays on the Drama of August
Wilson (Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1993).
An early (the first) but still useful collection of essays that treat a variety of the-
matic issues in five of Wilson’s plays written before 1993.
Kim Pereira, August Wilson and the African-American Odyssey (Carbondale: Uni-
versity of Illinois Press, 1995).
Analysis of four plays (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Fences, Joe Turner’s Come and
Gone, and The Piano Lesson) that draws out themes of separation, migration, and
reunion.
Yvonne Shafer, August Wilson: A Research and Production Sourcebook (Westport,
Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1998).
An important resource especially for those who are interested in the staging of
Wilson’s plays. Shafer provides biographical information and an overview of the
critical reception of Wilson’s plays.