Crosswinds: An Anthology of Black Dramatists in the Diaspora (Blacks in the Diaspora)

In his introduction to this collection of works by contemporary black playwrights, Branch (theater, dramatic literature, and communications, Cornell Univ.) traces the history of black--and all Western--drama back to the elaborate passion plays performed as part of ancient Nubian and Egyptian religious festivals. The relationship between religion and theater is part of the black dramatic heritage, he argues; also influential is the African tradition of the "griot," a historian-storyteller. Crosswinds presents playwrights from Africa, the Caribbean, South America, Europe, and the United States, including works by Wole Soyinka, Amiri Baraka, August Wilson, and Branch himself. Powerful and rich, this outstanding contribution to theater arts is recommended for contemporary literature and black studies collections. - Howard E. Miller, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Missouri Lib., St. Louis "Edited by award-winning U.S. playwright William Branch, this is a landmark collection of plays addressing various aspects of the global black experience by outstanding black playwrights from Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, and North and South America. Among the plays are dramas by Nobel laureates Derek Walcott and Wole Soyinka, pioneering folklorist Efua Sutherland, and two-time Pulitzer prize winner August Wilson."--Amazon.com viewed Nov. 3, 2022 Compiled by William Branch, playwright and American Book Award winner, this is a collection of plays by Black dramatists from Africa, the Caribbean, South America, Europe, and the United States. This anthology contains "Death and the King's Horseman", by Wole Soyinka of Nigeria, 1986 recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature; and more. Edited And With An Introduction By William B. Branch. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.