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Family
His Original name was Fredrick August Kittel Jr. born on April 27, 1945. His mother, Daisy Wilson, was a cleaning lady who cared for August and his five later six siblings ( Richard Kittel, Linda Jean Kittel, Barbara Jean Wilson, Edwin Kittel, Donna Conley,& Freda Ellis), and his father Frederick August Kittel, a German immigrant and Baker. Mr.Wilson was the fourth of six children and the oldest son. -
Education
Mr.Wilson grew up in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the setting for most of his plays was at schools he attended such as St.Richard’s Parochial School and Central Catholic High in 1959. Mr.Wilson faced a lot of hostility and harassment that forced him to transfer to two other high schools during only his freshman year. In 1960, at only 15, Mr.Wilson dropped out of Gladstone High School after a teacher accused him of Plagiarizing a paper on Napoleon. -
Why did he change his name
To honor his mother, Frederick August Kittel changes his name to August Wilson. His biological father dies. 1968 – Embracing a heightened black consciousness, August co-founds the Black Horizon Theater with colleagues Rob Penny, Sala Udin, Maisha Baton, Claude Purdy and others. -
why did Mr.Wilson change his name?
To honor his mother, Frederick August Kittel changes his name to August Wilson. His biological father dies. 1968 – Embracing a heightened black consciousness, August co-founds the Black Horizon Theater with colleagues Rob Penny, Sala Udin, Maisha Baton, Claude Purdy and others -
Marriage Part 1
Brenda Burton was his first wife from 1969-1972 -
Education Pt2
He turned to self-education, reading intensively in a public library and returning to the Hill District to learn from the residents there. He changed his last name from Kittel to Wilson, and in the late 1960s, he embraced the Black Arts movement. In 1968 he became the cofounder and director of Black Horizons Theatre in Pittsburgh. He also published poetry in such journals as Black World (1971) and Black Lines (1972). -
His Daughter With Brenda
His first daughter Sakina Ansari was born in 1970 with Brenda Burton -
When did August Wilson start writing plays?
He converted some of his poems into a play. Called Black Bart and the Sacred Hills, the production was a success, but Wilson doesn't count that play as part of his playwriting career. Instead, he says, his career began in 1979 with his work on Jitney. -
Places he lived pt1
Mr.Wilson grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. But in 1979 he moved to St.Paul Minnesota. Finally, he moved to Seattle in 1990. -
His first play
Wilson wrote Jitney, which he considered his first real play. Wilson received a fellowship from the Minneapolis Playwrights Center in 1980. The action takes place in a run-down station of a gypsy cab company. Becker, who runs the station, is a world-weary man of a certain age who has just received a pair of bitter blows. -
Marriage Part 2
After a Divorce from Brenda Burton, Mr.Wilson then married Judy Oliver in 1981-1990 -
His well known play "Fences"
Fences is a 1983 play. Set in the 1950s, it is the sixth in Wilson's ten-part “Pittsburgh Cycle”. Like all of the “Pittsburgh” plays, Fences explores the evolving African-American experience and examines race relations, among other themes., Fences explores the evolving African-American experience and examines race relations, among other themes. -
Awards
He won over 16 awards but his most Notable awards Pulitzer Prize for Drama (1987, 1990) Whiting Award (1986) Heinz Award in the Arts and Humanities (2004). His very award was the New York Drama Critics Circle award -
His final marriage
After Mr. Wilson amd Ms. Oliver divorced in 1990, He then married Constanza Romero from 1994 till 2005 -
His Second child with Constanza
Mr.Wilson's Second child was born August 27, 1997 with his then-wife Constanza Romero -
Influences?
The Four B's
In a 1999 interview with The Paris Review, playwright August Wilson stated that his work was most heavily influenced by “my four Bs”: poet Jorge Luis Borges, playwright Amiri Baraka, painter Romare Bearden, and most importantly, the blues. -
Health issues
Mr.Wilson did overall live a healthy life but at the age of 60 died because of liver cancer
