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Chapter 30 - August Wilson and Dramaturgy

Discovering Oral Traditions in the American Century Cycle

from Part IV - Critical and Comparative Contexts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 June 2025

By
Melonnie Walker
Edited by
Khalid Y. Long  and
Isaiah Matthew Wooden
Khalid Y. Long
Affiliation:
Howard University, Washington DC
Isaiah Matthew Wooden
Affiliation:
Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania
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Summary

This chapter takes a dramaturgical approach to illuminating the oral traditions of African culture in August Wilson’s American Century Cycle. More specifically, it explores how, in Two Trains Running and King Hedley II, Wilson uses the characters of Holloway and Stool Pigeon to explain historical events and pass on generational wisdom to the other characters by drawing on this rich oral tradition.

Keywords

August WilsonAmerican Century CycleDramaturgyOral TraditionTwo Trains RunningKing Hedley II

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Chapter
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August Wilson in Context , pp. 368 - 376
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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References

Further Reading

Elam, Harry J., Jr., The Past as Present in the Drama of August Wilson (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2004).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mary, C. Hartig and Bryer, Jackson, eds., Conversations with August Wilson (Jackson: University of Mississippi Press, 2006).Google Scholar
Nadel, Alan, ed., May All Your Fences Have Gates: Essays on the Drama of August Wilson (Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1993).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shannon, Sandra G., The Dramatic Vision of August Wilson (Washington, DC: Howard University Press, 1995).Google Scholar
Temple, Riley Keen, Aunt Ester’s Children Redeemed (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2017).Google Scholar

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