August Wilson by Phylicia Rashad (Entertainment Weekly)
Hyfler/Rosner
A LOVER OF LANGUAGE with a masterful understanding of
rhythms in speech, August Wilson brought to the stage those
lives that are typically regarded as dull and unimportant.
In his way of thinking, every human being was endowed with
dignity and, therefore, worthy of respect. His presentation
was so authentically human. Within the context of his own
ethnicity and cultural heritage, he posed philosophical
questions: What does it mean to be free? What is the
individual's responsibility to freedom? And he offered an
answer: Freedom is attained through the recognition of the
deepest part of our selves. Inherent in this recognition is
the experience of connection to all who have come before and
exist now, and the responsibility to prepare the way-a good
way-for all who will follow. Had he not written the cycle of
plays, the people of Pittsburgh's Hill District, the
community in which he grew up, would have been forgotten.
Remembrance was important to August, and it is important
that he be remembered. (Wilson died of liver cancer in
Seattle.)