A Raisin in the Sun

by Lorraine Hansberry

"Never before has so much of the truth of black people's lives been shown on the stage in the entire history of the American theatre," James Baldwin observed just before A Raisin in the Sun premiered on Broadway in 1959.

Lorraine Hansberry's award-winning play about the hopes and aspirations of a struggling, working-class family on Chicago's South Side resonated deeply with black America's psyche—and forever reshaped American theatre. The title of the play is derived from a phrase in Langston Hughes' poem "Harlem," which warns that if a dream is postponed, it will "dry up/like a raisin in the sun."
"The events of every passing year add resonance to A Raisin in the Sun," said The New York Times. "It is as if history is conspiring to make the play a classic."

116 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 12, 2022

About the author

Lorraine Vivian Hansberry was an American playwright and writer. She was the first African-American female author to have a play performed on Broadway. Her best-known work, the play A Raisin in the Sun, highlights the lives of black Americans in Chicago living under racial segregation. The title of the play was taken from the poem "Harlem" by Langston Hughes: "What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?" At the age of 29, she won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award – making her the first African-American dramatist, the fifth woman, and the youngest playwright to do so. Hansberry's family had struggled against segregation, challenging a restrictive covenant in the 1940 U.S. Supreme Court case Hansberry v. Lee.
After she moved to New York City, Hansberry worked at the Pan-Africanist newspaper Freedom, where she worked with other black intellectuals such as Paul Robeson and W. E. B. Du Bois. Much of her work during this time concerned the African struggles for liberation and their impact on the world. Hansberry also wrote about being a lesbian and the oppression of gay people. She died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 34 during the Broadway run of her play The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window in 1965. Hansberry inspired the Nina Simone song "To Be Young, Gifted and Black", whose title-line came from Hansberry's autobiographical play.

Reviews

[Wendy Cameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I've read a play...maybe since Romeo & Juliet in junior high school? I really enjoyed the format--I may have to do more of these!! It was an interesting look at life in the 1950s through the eyes of a black family and some of the challenges they faced...poverty, racism, fighting amongst themselves. This was a quick read at only 116 pages and while there were a few words or phrases from the time and culture that I didn't understand, it was a fairly easy read and I got most of it. Recommend--4 stars.

[Ellenore Clementine Kruger · Rating 5 out of 5]

quite interesting lol

This was so cool. It was great to go back in time. Lots of dignity and desire still. Nothing to complain about but the ebook was not super organized with equal spacing. The material is still gold.

[Leif Olandese · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Read

The play brilliantly portrayed both racial and familial tensions affecting an average black Chicago family in the mid 20th century.

[Litzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty good ngl