What do you think?
Rate this book
Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years - A Play
Book by Emily Mann, Sarah L. Delany, A. Elizabeth Delany, Amy Hill Hearth
62 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
1 person is currently reading
103 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
Read
January 23, 2016The Delany sisters, Bessie and Sadie, were born in South Carolina about 1890. They write about their shared century of living. The sisters are honest, amusing and most of all insightful. They lead amazing lives and watched a lot of history being made. Fortunately they were willing to share their insights.
August 18, 2010
Fabulous book about two remarkable women, their outstanding family, the struggles of being discriminated against and living to be over 100. I found this book inspiring and gave me a clear perspective of many issues.
January 22, 2015
Read this book back in March of 2010, simply forgot to add it to my reading list. It is the story of the Delany sisters, their growing up, coming of age, and living to be over 100 years old. Most informative, but not a book I'd recommend.
August 14, 2008
Wonderful book, must read
January 22, 2017
I'm excited to start working on this production!
September 22, 2009
At the risk of belittling the power of Mann's adaptation of the Delany Sister's "Having Our Say," I have to say that the play smacks of a certain Forrest Gump sentimentality. I mean, come on - "They REALLY surprised their aging mother with a birthday visit from Eleanor Roosevelt?" However, I found myself quickly shelving this rash judgement when I considered: holy crap, these were REAL people that lived these incomparably eventful lives. When this is digested, the rest speaks for itself.
On the surface the play seems deceptively simple to produce. Two elderly black women, "inviting" the audience as guests to join them during their annual birthday dinner for their deceased father, simply sharing anecdotes from their LONG lives (101 & 103 years). However, the women's stories are heavily laden with historical significance (from Reconstruction through Jim Crow to contemporary ruminations about whether America "will ever see a black President") and emotional weight. In short, this play's got a HUGE heart.
Since the form of "Having Our Say" is so simple, I sense that the success of this play is largely dependent on the degree to which the two actresses are engaging storytellers and--perhaps even more importantly--the ease with which the women can relate to each other as over 100-year-old sisters, friends, etc.
While the play calls for a common contemporary theatrical trope--a slideshow, which accompanies the sisters' review of photo album pictures--tech-wise, "Having Our Say" is incredibly unassuming. This lack of "theatrical" ostentation is perhaps one of the play's best selling points; the stories are so unbelievably captivating, little more is needed than two actresses and an audience to communicate the richness of the Delany Sisters' biographies.
On the surface the play seems deceptively simple to produce. Two elderly black women, "inviting" the audience as guests to join them during their annual birthday dinner for their deceased father, simply sharing anecdotes from their LONG lives (101 & 103 years). However, the women's stories are heavily laden with historical significance (from Reconstruction through Jim Crow to contemporary ruminations about whether America "will ever see a black President") and emotional weight. In short, this play's got a HUGE heart.
Since the form of "Having Our Say" is so simple, I sense that the success of this play is largely dependent on the degree to which the two actresses are engaging storytellers and--perhaps even more importantly--the ease with which the women can relate to each other as over 100-year-old sisters, friends, etc.
While the play calls for a common contemporary theatrical trope--a slideshow, which accompanies the sisters' review of photo album pictures--tech-wise, "Having Our Say" is incredibly unassuming. This lack of "theatrical" ostentation is perhaps one of the play's best selling points; the stories are so unbelievably captivating, little more is needed than two actresses and an audience to communicate the richness of the Delany Sisters' biographies.
August 24, 2010
I'm giving this low marks because I thought it would be so interesting - after all it's the biography of two black women who were the daughters of slaves and ended up as professionals in NYC. I was surprised that they didn't have that much to say. They just kept going on and on about how right they were about everything. Didn't they ever make any mistakes? I think their editor should have spruced this up a bit. It became monotonous.
September 11, 2017
What a wonderful story about two sisters who have dedicated themselves to the United States and one another. I love the playfulness of their relationship and would love to see this onstage. It is a powerful account of a troubling history.
February 20, 2022
My book club, "Tuesday's Book Club" just dropped its latest episode featuring, "Having Our Say. The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years" by Sarah L. Delany, Amy Hill Hearth, and A. Elizabeth Delany.
As we celebrate Black History Month, this is a special look into what it was like for some black families growing up in America.
Click the link below and join us as we talk about this beautiful book!
https://www.pinkkangaru.com/tuesdays-...
As we celebrate Black History Month, this is a special look into what it was like for some black families growing up in America.
Click the link below and join us as we talk about this beautiful book!
https://www.pinkkangaru.com/tuesdays-...
June 12, 2020
Amazing store of a uneasy time in our world. The Delany sisters are an inspiration to all who read their history.
October 18, 2018
Maybe not the most innovative play ever written but you can see how in the right actors’ hands it would sing. A bit sentimental but these were real, brilliant women and that’s easy to forgive.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews