Ed Bullins: A Literary Biography

by Samuel A. Hay

This book on the prize-winning African American playwright Ed Bullins is the first to chronicle the life and work of the man who dominated the New York theatre scene between 1968 and 1982. With his presentations of street life, Bullins transformed the Protest and Art-theatre traditions founded by W. E. B. DuBois and Alain Locke and made important contributions to black theatre. In Ed A Literary Biography, Samuel Hay, author, theatre historian, critic, and director of Bullins's work, studies Bullins within the context of African American intellectual history and dramatic theory. During the writing of this book, Bullins turned over his journals and personal papers, including rehearsal notes, to Hay and made himself available for interviews. Given Bullins's private nature, Hay is extremely successful in providing a complete portrait. While the rich narrative is full of facts and biographic detail, it also burgeons with personal insight.

301 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1996