Nationality American Name Pearl Cleage | Role Author | |
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Born December 7, 1948 (age 75)
Springfield, Massachusetts, United States ( 1948-12-07 ) Occupation Novelist, Essayist, Playwright, Poet Genre African American literature Notable works What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day, Wish I Had a Red Dress, We Speak Your Names Spouse Michael Lomax (m. 1969–1979) Plays Blues for an Alabama sky, Flyin' West Parents Doris Cleage, Albert Cleage Education Howard University, Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College Books What Looks Like Crazy on, We speak your names, I wish I had a red dress, Babylon sisters, Baby brother's blues Similar People Tananarive Due, Jasmine Guy, Sheldon Epps, Sonia Sanchez, Nitanju Bolade Casel | ||
Pearl cleage black community book club aarp
Pearl Cleage (born December 7, 1948) is an African American author whose work, both fiction and non-fiction, has been widely recognized. Her novel What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day was a 1998 Oprah Book Club selection. Cleage is known for her feminist views, particularly regarding her identity as an African American woman. Cleage teaches drama at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia and is the Playwright in Residence at the Alliance Theatre.
Contents
- Pearl cleage black community book club aarp
- Gdl presents pearl cleage part 1
- Early life and career
- Personal life
- Awards
- Novels
- Plays
- Non fiction
- References
Gdl presents pearl cleage part 1
Early life and career
Pearl Cleage was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, the daughter of Doris Cleage (née Graham), a teacher, and the late civil rights activist Bishop Albert Cleage. After backlash resulting from her father's radical teachings, the family moved to Detroit, Michigan, where Bishop Cleage became a prominent civil rights leader. Cleage first attended Howard University in Washington, D.C., in 1966 majoring in playwriting and dramatic literature. However she moved to Atlanta, Georgia, to attend Spelman College in 1969, where she attained a bachelor's degree in drama in 1971. She then joined the Spelman faculty as a writer and playwright in residence and as a creative director. Cleage has written many novels, plays, and non-fiction works borrowing heavily from her life experiences. Many of her novels are set in neighborhoods in Atlanta, Georgia.
In 2013, Cleage became the Playwright in Residence at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia through the National Playwright Residency Program funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and administered by HowlRound. The initial three-year term was renewed for an additional three years in 2016. Cleage is documenting her residency with frequent writings in the HowlRound journal.
Cleage notably writes about topics at the intersection of sexism and racism, specifically on issues such as domestic violence and rape in the black community. She has been a supporter of the Obama administration. Cleage is an activist for AIDS and women's rights, experiences from which she draws from for her writings.
Personal life
In 1969, Cleage married Michael Lomax, an Atlanta politician and past-president of Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana. They had a daughter, Deignan Njeri. The marriage ended in divorce in 1979. In 1994, Cleage married Zaron Burnett, Jr, writer and director for the Just Us Theater Company. She has four grandchildren.
Cleage is a former Cosby Endowed Chair at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. She also speaks at colleges, universities, and conferences on topics including domestic violence, the citizen's role in a participatory democracy, and writing topics.
Awards
Novels
Plays
Chain