Bibliograph

Lorraine Hansberry, award-winning playwright and civil rights activist

Type

Label

Lorraine Hansberry, award-winning playwright and civil rights activist

Language

eng

Index

no index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Lorraine Hansberry

Medium

electronic resource

Nature of contents

dictionaries

Series statement

The Barnard biography series

Sub title

award-winning playwright and civil rights activist

Summary

Lorraine Hansberry tells the fascinating story of the brave and talented woman who, almost single-handedly, overcame the racial obstacles that made for a segregated American theatre in the years following World War II. Hansberry was just twenty-nine years old when her play A Raisin in the Sun opened in 1959 - an era where her very existence as a black, female writer was considered unusual. The play was an overnight sensation, earning its author the double distinction of being the youngest playwright and first black person to win the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award. In Hansberry's own words, A Raisin in the Sun "tells the truth about people... We have among our miserable and downtrodden ranks people who are the very essence of human dignity. That is what, after all the laughter and tears, the play is supposed to say. "

Target audience

adult

Classification