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I met Mr. Wilson when I was in my 20s and working at a restaurant on Capital Hill in Seattle. I first heard of him when I was a teenager in Alaska, I was working on my first play for the NAACP ACT-SO competition when I heard him being interviewed on 60s Minutes. It was the eighties and the play Fences had just opened on Broadway. Mr. Wilson was talking about how, for years, he struggled with his writing because he was trying to sound like something he wasn't, trying to write about people he did not know. His writing was not authentic until he figured out that he should write about the people he knew, the places he knew in other words he should write about Black life in America. White America had not been very kind to him in his childhood, his mother was black and his dad was white but his parents did not live together, August lived with his Black mother on the Black side of town. He, when presenting his essay to his teacher in high school, was accused of cheating because the teacher did not believe a black kid could write so well. August did not return to school after that accusation, he got up each morning and went to the public library and his mother never found out until graduation came around and August name was not called. He is first of all the voice of Black America, plain an simple. His plays, the cadence of the speech of his plays rings true to the sound of Black America and the subject matter or our history in this country. I know I am not being politically correct but sometimes honesty takes precedent over political correctness. We do not have a chance to see our hear our honest selves represented on the stage or screen and Mr. Wilson was a gift to us, he allowed us to see the beauty of our pain and struggle and the beauty of our getting over in a country that was not designed for us. When I first met Mr. Wilson I acted a natural born fool, I dropped what I was doing and ran to his table and just cried. He was so nice to me and listened to me has a blubbered about him being one of the people I wanted to meet before I died and how he had influenced me to write. Mr. Wilson asked me how much longer I had on my shift and I told him I had just started. He got up and left telling me he would return, he returned an hour later with a bag of his plays he purchased at the bookstore across the street and he gave me them with his autograph inside of each one. That was the start of our friendship in Seattle. I have seen almost all of his plays and occasionally would pester him about what he was working on or when he was heading back to NYC for the Tony Awards. He was our voice, I hear my grandfather when I hear his dialog, I hear my father and his drinking buddies and I see myself reflected back. I miss this man so much sometimes but I am so happy I got to know him and he tolerated my black ass. He is adored by many people but he was us showing us our innate beauty.
Thank you for this wonderful comment. I wanted so badly to meet him but never did. I would have behaved the exact way that you did! All the best to you.
Thanks to Denzel Washington and Viola Davis, I discovered this phenomenal playwright who had firsthand understanding of the Black experience. I am such a fan of Denzel Washington, one of the finest actors and next to him, Sydney Poitier is the actor I admire and respect the most.
This interview reminds me of what I found annoying about Charlie Rose interviews. I was convinced he must have been drinking before some of them, because he would almost bully the guest with interruptions of his own self-importance at times. And he was weirdly pulled back with women guests. Other times he was brilliant. Anyway, so glad to hear August Wilson.
Such genius artistry describing the black experience and he doesn't even have to constantly throw around the N word; today's rap music artists could learn from this!
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One of Black-Americas greatest playwrights!!
not just black america, but the entire world
Not just black America's....
One of the world's great playwrights.
Thank You
I met Mr. Wilson when I was in my 20s and working at a restaurant on Capital Hill in Seattle. I first heard of him when I was a teenager in Alaska, I was working on my first play for the NAACP ACT-SO competition when I heard him being interviewed on 60s Minutes. It was the eighties and the play Fences had just opened on Broadway. Mr. Wilson was talking about how, for years, he struggled with his writing because he was trying to sound like something he wasn't, trying to write about people he did not know. His writing was not authentic until he figured out that he should write about the people he knew, the places he knew in other words he should write about Black life in America.
White America had not been very kind to him in his childhood, his mother was black and his dad was white but his parents did not live together, August lived with his Black mother on the Black side of town. He, when presenting his essay to his teacher in high school, was accused of cheating because the teacher did not believe a black kid could write so well. August did not return to school after that accusation, he got up each morning and went to the public library and his mother never found out until graduation came around and August name was not called.
He is first of all the voice of Black America, plain an simple. His plays, the cadence of the speech of his plays rings true to the sound of Black America and the subject matter or our history in this country. I know I am not being politically correct but sometimes honesty takes precedent over political correctness. We do not have a chance to see our hear our honest selves represented on the stage or screen and Mr. Wilson was a gift to us, he allowed us to see the beauty of our pain and struggle and the beauty of our getting over in a country that was not designed for us.
When I first met Mr. Wilson I acted a natural born fool, I dropped what I was doing and ran to his table and just cried. He was so nice to me and listened to me has a blubbered about him being one of the people I wanted to meet before I died and how he had influenced me to write. Mr. Wilson asked me how much longer I had on my shift and I told him I had just started. He got up and left telling me he would return, he returned an hour later with a bag of his plays he purchased at the bookstore across the street and he gave me them with his autograph inside of each one. That was the start of our friendship in Seattle. I have seen almost all of his plays and occasionally would pester him about what he was working on or when he was heading back to NYC for the Tony Awards.
He was our voice, I hear my grandfather when I hear his dialog, I hear my father and his drinking buddies and I see myself reflected back. I miss this man so much sometimes but I am so happy I got to know him and he tolerated my black ass.
He is adored by many people but he was us showing us our innate beauty.
Kim Rabb i love this comment a lot man. Glad I read the whole thing
That's so beautiful. I'm so glad and inspired that you had such an experience
Thank you for this wonderful comment. I wanted so badly to meet him but never did. I would have behaved the exact way that you did! All the best to you.
Wow
Such a beautiful testimony. He gives the vibe of the man you described. His love of us as a people shows through. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks to Denzel Washington and Viola Davis, I discovered this phenomenal playwright who had firsthand understanding of the Black experience. I am such a fan of Denzel Washington, one of the finest actors and next to him, Sydney Poitier is the actor I admire and respect the most.
What a great talent! I am thankful for this post . . . so thankful
Love you August Wilson R.I.P. 💕❤️🇺🇸
thank you for posting this.
August Wilson: The greatest playwright of the last 40 years
Damn that Keith David 0:42 can act!
He is one of the greatest Playwrights
In the Art of Theater 🎭.
Love him.
amazing writer and Steel City legend
rest in peace
My great uncle was awesome I want to be him to bad he died before I was born
This interview reminds me of what I found annoying about Charlie Rose interviews. I was convinced he must have been drinking before some of them, because he would almost bully the guest with interruptions of his own self-importance at times. And he was weirdly pulled back with women guests. Other times he was brilliant. Anyway, so glad to hear August Wilson.
I got the same feeling too tbh. I thought it was just me overthinking it but now see you mention it i''m not totally crazy
i just try to stay optimistic about it. maybe he was really enthusiastic to meet a guy like august wilson
Greatness
Wow!
Love you Charlie Rose.
He died exactly on my birthday
Happy belated birthday
Something about the interviewer is very irritating.
Yes, his assenine micro-aggressions.
@@peppermintt3879 Whatever. He was entitled to to presen himself any way he wanted. People see what they want to see.
@@dewaynesmith6924 And I'm entitled to speak on what I see.
Sad to say...Interviewer wasn't very welcoming
Such genius artistry describing the black experience and he doesn't even have to constantly throw around the N word; today's rap music artists could learn from this!
what a terrific writer and man! What a terrible interviewer 🤦🏽♀
He opened up his tablet? What tablet? !!
Expound, please. What do you mean by what tablet?
Years ago, a spiral notebook was called a tablet.
son weak