Accomplished poet and playwright Ntozake Shange will deliver the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture for the Assembly Series at 4 p.m. April 8 in Graham Chapel.
Shange is best known for her unique “choreopoem” for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf, published in 1975.
Considered radical at the time for its message of feminism and African-American female empowerment, for colored girls was written as a group of 20 poems for seven actors and blended music, dance and poetry.
It ran off-Broadway for seven months before making it to Broadway at the Booth Theatre. It won several awards — including an Obie Award for best drama and an Outer Circle Award — and received several Tony, Grammy and Emmy award nominations.
Described as passionate and fearless by reviewers and critics, for colored girls reveals what it was like to be of color and female in the 20th century. It was praised by The New Yorker for “encompassing … every feeling and experience a woman has ever had. … It will be read and performed for generations to come.”
Shange has written extensively on the lives and desires of African-American women throughout history, including books of poetry such as The Love Space Demands: A Continuing Saga; A Daughter’s Geography; and Nappy Edges. Her novels include Sassafras, Cypress and Indigo; Betsey Brown; and Liliane.
Among her numerous awards are a Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Poetry and a Pushcart Prize.
Although known for her writing, Shange sees herself in a variety of roles, including dancer, actor, director, lecturer and African-American feminist. Growing up in a family that entertained friends such as Paul Robeson, W.E.B. DuBois, Dizzy Gillespie and Duke Ellington had a strong impact on Shange’s life and work.
She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in American studies from the University of Southern California. She has taught at California State College, the City College of New York, the University of Houston and Rice, Yale and New York universities.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture, which seeks to bring speakers who address civil rights issues, is sponsored by the Association of Black Students.
Assembly Series talks are free and open to the public. For more information, call 935-4620 or go online to wupa.wustl.edu/assembly.