Fences - August Wilson Inspiration

Which of these is NOT a play connection for "the Blues"?

• Lyons (Troy's son) is a musician

• The Blues are deeply rooted in African American culture and history

• The characters in Wilson's plays each speak part of the melody

• Troy was a blues musician.

The Blues (music genre) ...

• came into popularity in the early 20th century

• draws on African American story telling and folk tales

• has roots in spirituality

• all of these

Jorge Luis Borges inspired August Wilson to include what important element in his plays?

• the blues

• poetry

• magical realism

• fictional elements

Jorge Luis Borges was...

• African American

• Argentinian

• related to August Wilson

• a Civil Rights activist

Romare Bearden's work inspired August Wilson through...

• black life presented on its own terms

• poetry aimed at African Americans

• ghosts, magical elements

• black lives matter movement

Romare Bearden's work aimed to...

• capture Black American life

• capture Black American conscience in society

• capture his own personal memores and those of African-American cultural history

• all of these

Amiri Baraka's work can best be characterized as...

• radical, critical of society, and powerful.

• uplifting, inspirational, and historical.

• magical, fictional, and surreal.

• incomplete, fractured, and confusing.

It is most likely that August Wilson was inspired by Baraka's...

• paintings

• college career

• magical realism

• radical, political ideas

Which best charactarizes Wilson's education?

• Ivy league college experience helped him to find a community

• dropped out of high school early on; educated himself

• home schooled due to Jim Crow laws and racism

• went to college on a football scholarship

Wilson's Pittsburg Cycle consisted of...

• his plays being performed on various stages in Pittsburg throughout the 20th century

• his time in Pittsburg as a theater director

• 10 plays, each set in a decade of the 20th century, and all set in Pittsburg