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Chapter 6 - Of “Manners and Rituals”

Baldwin, Bullins, and the Portrayals of Black Life

from Part I - Influences and Inspirations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 June 2025

By
Ernest L. Gibson III
Edited by
Khalid Y. Long  and
Isaiah Matthew Wooden
Khalid Y. Long
Affiliation:
Howard University, Washington DC
Isaiah Matthew Wooden
Affiliation:
Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania
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Summary

This chapter considers the influence of fellow writers James Baldwin and Ed Bullins on August Wilson’s dramaturgy. It argues that Bullins and Baldwin’s simultaneous inclusion on Wilson’s list of “Bs” represents both an expansion of his original influences and a specific articulation of his artistic pursuit or philosophy.

Keywords

August WilsonAmerican Century CycleFour BsJames BaldwinEd BullinsMasculinityFencesThe Piano Lesson

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Type
Chapter
Information
August Wilson in Context , pp. 77 - 86
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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References

Further Reading

Baldwin, James, Nobody Knows My Name (New York: Vintage, 1992).Google Scholar
Clark, Keith, Black Manhood in James Baldwin, Ernest J. Gaines and August Wilson (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2004).Google Scholar
Harry J. Elam, Jr., The Past as Present in the Drama of August Wilson (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2004).Google Scholar
Hartigan, Patti, August Wilson: A Life (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2023).Google Scholar
Sell, Mike, Ed Bullins: Twelve Plays and Selected Writings (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2006).Google Scholar

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