Suzan-Lori Parks : Essays on the Plays and Other Works

by Kolin, Philip C.

• ISBN13: 9780786441679
• ISBN10: 0786441674
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-08-17
• Publisher: McFarland Publishing

Summary

The first African American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for drama, Suzan-Lori Parks has received international recognition for her provocative and influential works. Her plays capture the nightmares of African Americans endangered by a white establishment determined to erase their history and eradicate their dreams. This collection of twelve original essays addresses Parks's plays, their historical and philosophical roots, her novel and her screenplays, as well as a production chronology of her plays. In addition this volume offers two original interviews, one with Parks and another with her long-time director Liz Diamond.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. 1
Puck's Magic Mojo: The Achievements of Suzan-Lori Parks	p. 7
Everything and Nothing: The Political and Religious Nature of Suzan-Lori Parks's ôRadical Inclusionö	p. 20
ôJazzingö Time, Love, and the Female Self in Three Early Plays by Suzan-Lori Parks	p. 34
ôYou one of uh mines?ö Dis(re)membering in Suzan-Lori Parks's Imperceptible Mutabilities in the Third Kingdom	p. 45
Sampling and Remixing: Hip Hop and Parks's History Plays	p. 65
ôFor the Love of the Venusö: Suzan-Lori Parks, Richard Foreman, and the Premiere of Venus	p. 76
ôA Full Refund Aint Enoughö: Money in Suzan-Lori Parks's Red Letter Plays	p. 88
Does Reshuffling the Cards Change the Game? Structures of Play in Parks's Topdog/Underdog	p. 103
Suzan-Lori Parks's 365 Days/365 Plays: A (W)hole New Approach to Theatre	p. 124
Parks and the Traumas of Childhood	p. 140
Demeter, Persephone and Willa Mae Beede: Suzan-Lori Parks Gets Mother's Body	p. 156
The Unconscious and Metaphors in Suzan-Lori Parks's Screenplays of Girl 6 and Their Eyes Were Watching God	p. 169
An Interview with Suzan-Lori Parks	p. 181
A Parks Remix: An Interview with Liz Diamond	p. 191
A Production History of the Works of Suzan-Lori Parks	p. 203
About the Contributors	p. 207
Index	p. 211
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