Black Feminism in Contemporary Drama

In tracing black feminism in contemporary drama authored by black women, Lisa M. Anderson analyzes plays by Pearl Cleage, Glenda Dickerson, Breena Clarke, Kia Corthron, Suzan-Lori Parks, Sharon Bridgforth, and Shirlene Holmes. Representing a cross section of women who have diverse writing and performance styles and generational differences, Black Feminism in Contemporary Drama highlights the artistic and political breadth of black feminist theater. While investigating the intersections of race, gender, class, and sexual orientation in twenty-first-century plays, Anderson provides a historical overview of the development of black feminism--in drama, poetry, and fiction--since the nineteenth century. Whether then or now, black feminism has engaged with issues such as rape, social justice, victimization, abortion, stereotyping, racism, and violence. This enlightening study of modern black feminist theatre aesthetic not only discusses what shapes the black feminism of these playwrights but also points out how the meaning of the term black feminism shifts among them. In constructing this aesthetic, Anderson examines current issues such as welfare, lesbianism, teen pregnancy, and gang violence. Anderson's analysis also includes a close investigation of each play's creation and the context of its production, including how the play critiques, shifts, or alters dominant culture stereotypes; how it positions goals of the "community"; and how it engages with the concept of art's function.