Description
Book SynopsisAn enlightening study of feminism in the work of seven black playwrights
Trade Review"The present volume probes a large sample of the dramatic literature and therefore achieves a deeper inquiry. . . . Recommended."--Choice
“Enormously valuable for its range of playwrights. . . . With its focus on texts and intertextuality, the contributors maintain a blend of criticism, cultural history, and theatre history.”--
Theatre Survey"A stimulating reading that weaves together black feminist theater and black women's histories."--
SIGNS"The riveting selections in
Black Feminism in Contemporary Drama cover what is going on in African American women's drama today. The volume pays close attention to topics of race, class, gender, and sexuality, while raising issues that are critical to many contemporary debates: black women's health, representation, and gender objectification. An accessible and informative read that is a welcome addition to drama studies, American literature, and African American literature."--Valerie Lee, editor of
The Prentice Hall Anthology of African American Women's Literature"
Black Feminism in Contemporary Drama lays out carefully and clearly the elements needed for a black feminist aesthetic and begins the journey toward conjoining black women's plays and performance pieces with black feminist cultural scholarship in multiple disciplines. Expanding the canon of black feminist cultural analysis in valuable ways, Anderson selects truly worthwhile and timely plays that will find resonance with feminist, literature, and drama students and scholars."--Jacqueline Bobo, author of
Black Women as Cultural ReadersTable of ContentsAcknowledgments vii
1. A Black Feminist Theatre Emerges 1
2. Pearl Cleage's Black Feminism 17
3. We Are the Daughters of Aunt Jemima: Remembering Black Women's History 35
4. Battling Images: Suzan-Lori Parks and Black Iconicity 55
5. Kia Corthron's Everyday Black Women 76
6. Signifying Black Lesbians: Dramatic Speculations 95
7. A Black Feminist Aesthetic 115
Notes 127
Bibliography 133
Index 141
