Just prior to his death in 2005; August Wilson; arguably the most important American playwright of the last quarter-century; completed an ambitious cycle of ten plays; each set in a different decade of the twentieth century. Known as the Twentieth-Century Cycle or the Pittsburgh Cycle; the plays; which portrayed the struggles of African-Americans; won two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama; a Tony Award for Best Play; and seven New York Drama Critics Circle Awards. August Wilson: Completing the Twentieth-Century Cycle is the first volume devoted to the last five plays of the cycle individuallymdash;Jitney;Seven Guitars; King Hedley II; Gem of the Ocean; and Radio Golfmdash;and in the context of Wilsons entire body of work. Editor Alan Nadels May All Your Fences Have Gates: Essays on the Drama of August Wilson; a work Henry Louis Gates called definitive; focused on the first five plays of Wilsons cycle. This new collection examines from myriad perspectives the way Wilsons final works give shape and focus to his complete dramatic opus. It contains an outstanding and diverse array of discussions from leading Wilson scholars and literary critics. Together; the essays in Nadels two volumes give Wilsons work the breadth of analysis and understanding that this major figure of American drama merits.ContributorsHerman BeaversYvonne ChambersSoyica Diggs ColbertHarry J. Elam; Jr.Nathan GrantDavid LaCroixBarbara LewisAlan NadelDonald E. PeaseSandra ShannonVivian Gist SpencerAnthony StewartSteven C. TracyDana WilliamsKimmika L. H. Williams-Witherspoon
#413011 in eBooks 2011-10-18 2011-10-18File Name: B004KPM14Y
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Finally. Judy Collinss Own Story.By johnfAlthough she has written other books. Judy Collins had never written a full autobiography until this book appeared in 2011. It was about time that we had a biography of Judy. who whether in Greenwich Village in the early sixties or Laurel Canyon later on. always seemed to be at the center of things during one of the most musically creative and culturally turbulent times in our history. She writes the book (and she really did write the book; theres no ghost writer) in a clear. almost conversational style. easily readable.All autobiographies are suspect to some extent. in that youre getting what the subject wants the world to know. but this one seems open and truthful. not portraying its subject as a great heroine. but rather just the stories and details that make up any life. leaving you to decide things. What there is is a guarded sense. a point past which she does not go in explaining just what was going on in her mind at that time. but in a life as busy as hers was we can not be sure she was aware of everything herself. The book starts with her earliest years on the West Coast and then mostly in Colorado. the formative years that led her from singing at family gatherings. to singing in isolated mountain lodges and then a succession of folk clubs that brought her a growing fame and eventually a record contract with Jac Holzmans Elektra. It includes her study under Antonia Brico and her life with first husband. Peter Taylor.After that. the book focuses on her most creative years from 1961 to the late seventies and is as much about her songs and albums as it is about the other parts of her life. This is of great interest in her case because Judy Collins was a very involved artist. always choosing her material and working with arrangers like Joshua Rifkin and producer Mark Abramson as a virtual co-producer of her albums. We see her growth and development as she goes from interpreter of traditional material to one of the foremost singers of the songs of the new generation of singer-songwriters just coming up. from Bob Dylan and Tom Paxton. to Eric Andersen. Phil Ochs. Randy Newman. Donovan and Joni Mitchell.She knew everyone. and they all appear here. She lived a bohemian life and this was the sixties. so she had lots of relationships with the men. both long-term and brief. There was always a kind of pristine quality to her personna and demeanor. the kind where you might hesitate to offer her anything stronger than herb tea. But she had a genuinely wild side that is a surprising contrast to her image. Judy has always been known as a gracious person and she is king to everyone she writes about. Nowadays its common for book agents to insist on gossip. dirt and scandal to create controversy to sell the book. Its to her credit that Judy skips over any dirt (and she must know a lot) and remembers the good things about old friends and acquaintances. She was disappointed when Jac Holzman sold Elektra to Warners without telling anyone. and her relationship with Joni Mitchell was strained. but thats about as far as it goes.There is one person she is unsparing with and thats herself. Though a professional in every way and always seeming calm and collected. she was often in a state of confusion and depression living a life that was always teetering on total chaos. That was largely because there is a villain in the story. a very long and difficult struggle with alcoholism that ruined times of her life that should have been happy and which was threatening to kill her by the mid seventies. Its hard to imagine. but as she relates. "I could not walk. talk. think or function without a quart of vodka in my system." The last part of the book deals with her final triumph over addiction. a family inheritance that took both her father and her son away.I can not imagine any fan of Judy Collins. or even anyone interested in sixties music not finding this book interesting. Such a fascinating life at such an amazing time. I only wish she had written more.4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Not Clowns At AllBy Stephanie NewmanListening to Judy Collins reading her autobiography felt as if Id been given a gift. She wrote clearly. and far more openly than I would have imagined. She was painfully honest and straightforward. Her beautiful face has always seemed sad and serious on album covers. and now I know why. I never would have guessed that she struggled for many years. but that only makes her pure clear voice more treasured. Sometimes it seemed that she was name dropping. but then. she lived the life and was THERE in Laurel Canyon. in New York City. and performing around the world. She not only met. but was friends and sometimes lovers with many of the great musicians of the day. The brief recitation of lyrics which Judy then sang at the start of each chapter added richness. as did the set of songs at the end. This book touched me deeply.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. the part I wanted to know was Sweet Judy Blue EyesBy Jose G. PerezI long debated whether to say three stars or four.I decided three. because I long expected an intensely personal. soul baring journey. And yes. there is some of that ... but there is too much of a recounting of an assistants diary.The city. venue and date seems to be the framework of the book. It is exactly what the second. explanatory part of the title says: her life in music. But as someone who first heard her on the radio in Jr. High. the part I wanted to know was Sweet Judy Blue Eyes.The Judy of Our House. of Song for Martin. of Cook with Honey. of Suite Judy Blue Eyes.Songs like Bread and Roses. Marieke. Marat Sade. My Father have always had for me such haunting depth and power that i want to know -- have to know -- where it comes from. And it is all my failing. because if the artists had been able to express themselves a different way. theyd have written a different song.So in the end. in penitence. the stars became four. A little disappointed --or perhaps it would be better said. not really satisfied-- but not at all regretful.
