August Wilson (1945-2005) is an African-American playwright best known for a series of ten plays about the experience of black Americans in the 20th century. Each play is set in Wilson’s hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and takes place in a different decade of that century.
Wilson was born Frederick August Kittel. He has three older sisters and two younger brothers. Wilson’s father, Frederick Kittel, was white; according to Wilson and his sisters Kittle immigrated from Austro-Hungary in 1915 at the age of ten and became a baker. Wilson’s mother, Daisy Wilson, was born in Pittsburgh. August Wilson took his mother’s maiden name after his father died in 1965. There is no biography of Wilson; the published information about his personal life comes chiefly from interviews with
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Citation: Hendricks, Ted. "August Wilson". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 11 August 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4747, accessed 24 November 2024.]
