Ntozake Shange facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ntozake Shange
Shange in 1978
Born	Paulette Linda Williams (1948-10-18)October 18, 1948 Trenton, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	October 27, 2018(2018-10-27) (aged 70) Bowie, Maryland, U.S.
Education	Columbia University (BA) University of Southern California (MA)
Occupation	Playwright author poet
Relatives	Savannah Shange (daughter) Ifa Bayeza (sister) Bisa Williams (sister) Paul T. Williams, Jr. (brother)

Ntozake Shange (born Paulette Linda Williams; October 18, 1948 – October 27, 2018) was an American writer. She was famous for her plays and poems. As a Black feminist, she wrote about important topics. These included race and Black power.

She is best known for her play, For Colored Girls .../ When the Rainbow Is Enuf (1975). This play won an Obie Award. Shange also wrote novels. These include Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo (1982) and Betsey Brown (1985). Betsey Brown is about an African-American girl who runs away from home.

Shange received many awards. These included fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation. She also won a Shelley Memorial Award and a Pushcart Prize. In 2016, Barnard College got her collection of writings. Shange lived in Brooklyn, New York. She had one daughter, Savannah Shange.

Early Life and Education

Ntozake Shange was born Paulette Linda Williams. Her birth took place in Trenton, New Jersey. She grew up in an upper-middle-class family. Her father, Paul T. Williams, was a surgeon. Her mother, Eloise Williams, was an educator and social worker.

When Shange was eight, her family moved to St. Louis. This city was racially segregated. This meant Black and white people were kept separate. Because of a court ruling called Brown v. Board of Education, Shange rode a bus to a white school. There, she faced racism and unfair attacks.

Shange's family loved the arts. They encouraged her to explore her artistic side. Famous guests visited their home. These included Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. From a young age, Shange loved poetry. She went to poetry readings with her sister, Wanda. Wanda is now known as the playwright Ifa Bayeza. These readings made Shange interested in the American South. She thought about what Black children lost when their families moved North.

In 1966, Shange went to Barnard College in New York City. She later earned a master's degree. This was from the University of Southern California. During college, she faced challenges. She married, but the marriage ended quickly. In 1970, she changed her name. She chose Ntozake and Shange. These are African names. Ntozake means "She who comes with her own things" in Xhosa. Shange means "She who walks like a lion" in Zulu.

Career and Famous Works

In 1975, Shange moved back to New York City. She became a founding poet of the Nuyorican Poets Café. This was a famous place for poets. That same year, her most famous play opened. It was called For Colored Girls ... / When the Rainbow Is Enuf.

This play was first shown Off-Broadway. Then it moved to Broadway. It won many awards, including the Obie Award. Shange called her play a "choreopoem." This was a new type of play. It mixed poetry, dance, music, and song. It told the stories of women of color in the United States. The play was later made into a book in 1977. In 2010, it became a film directed by Tyler Perry.

Shange wrote other successful plays. These included Spell No. 7 (1979). This play explored the Black experience. She also adapted Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children (1980). This adaptation also won an Obie Award.

In 1978, Shange joined the Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press. This group helps women communicate. It also connects the public with women's media. Shange taught writing at the University of Houston. She also wrote poems and stories for many magazines. These included Ms. and Essence Magazine.

Shange and the Black Arts Movement

The Black Arts Movement was a big part of the Black Power Movement. It was about Black artists creating their own art. This art was different from Western styles. It focused on Black identity and freedom. Many artists were part of this movement. These included writers, dancers, and musicians.

The Black Arts Movement was mostly led by men. But some important women writers were also involved. These included Gwendolyn Brooks and Sonia Sanchez. Shange's work was very feminist. This was different from some parts of the Black Arts Movement. Some people criticized the movement for being sexist.

Shange had a unique writing style. She used different spellings and structures. She said her plays had an "organic form." This meant they could flow and didn't always need a big climax. She wanted to create a "special aesthetic" for Black women. She felt that parts of Black women's lives had been ignored. She wanted her art to deal with those parts.

Death

Ntozake Shange passed away in her sleep. She died on October 27, 2018. She was 70 years old. She had been sick and had strokes in 2004. But she was getting better. She was creating new work and giving readings. Her sister, Ifa Bayeza, said it was a huge loss. She believed young women would keep finding themselves through Shange's words.

Awards

• NDEA fellow, 1974
• Obie Award
• Outer Critics Circle Award
• Audience Development Committee (Audelco) Award
• Mademoiselle Award
• Frank Silvera Writers' Workshop Award, 1978
• Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Poetry, 1981 (for Three Pieces)
• Guggenheim fellowship, 1981
• Medal of Excellence, Columbia University, 1981
• Obie Award, 1981, for Mother Courage and Her Children
• Nori Eboraci Award, Barnard College, 1988
• Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund annual writer's award, 1992
• Paul Robeson Achievement Award, 1992
• Arts and Cultural Achievement Award, National Coalition of 100 Black Women (Pennsylvania chapter), 1992
• Taos World Poetry Heavyweight Champion, 1992, 1993, 1994
• Living Legend Award, National Black Theatre Festival, 1993
• Claim Your Life Award, WDAS-AM/FM, 1993
• Monarch Merit Award, National Council for Culture and Arts
• Supersisters trading card set (one of the cards featured Shange's name and picture), 1979
• Pushcart Prize
• St. Louis Walk of Fame inductee
• Proclamation of "Ntozake Shange Day" (Borough of Manhattan, New York) by Congressman Charles Rangel on June 14, 2014.
• Shelley Memorial Award

Nominations

• Emmy Award, 1977, nominee, Outstanding Writing in a Comedy-Variety or Music Special, An Evening with Diana Ross The Big Event
• Tony Award, 1977, nominee, Tony Award for Best Play, For Colored Girls .../ When the Rainbow Is Enuf
• Grammy Award, 1978, nominee, Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album, For Colored Girls .../ When the Rainbow Is Enuf

Works

Plays

• For Colored Girls .... / When the Rainbow Is Enuf (1975). Nominated for a Tony Award, Grammy Award, and Emmy Award.
• A Photograph: Lovers-in-Motion (1977).
• Where the Mississippi Meets the Amazon (1977).
• A Photograph: A Study of Cruelty (1977).
• Boogie Woogie Landscapes (1979).
• Spell #7 (1979).
• Black and White Two Dimensional Planes (1979).
• Mother Courage and Her Children (1980). Won a 1981 Obie Award.
• Three for a Full Moon (1982).
• Bocas (1982).
• From Okra to Greens/A Different Kinda Love Story (1983).
• Three views of Mt. Fuji (1987).
• Daddy Says (1989).
• Whitewash (1994).

Poetry

• Melissa & Smith (1976).
• Natural Disasters and Other Festive Occasions (1977).
• Nappy Edges (1978).
• A Daughter's Geography (1983).
• From Okra to Greens (1984).
• Ridin' the Moon in Texas: Word Paintings (1987).
• The Love Space Demands (a continuing saga) (1987).
• A Photograph: Lovers in Motion: A Drama (1977).
• Some Men (1981).
• Three Pieces (1992).
• I Live in Music (1994).
• The Sweet Breath of Life: A Poetic Narrative of the African-American Family (2004).
• "Enuf"
• "With No Immediate Cause"
• "you are sucha fool"
• "People of Watts" (1993).
• "Blood Rhythms"
• "Poet Hero"
• Wild Beauty (2017).

Novels

• Sassafrass (1976).
• For Colored Girls .../When the Rainbow is Enuf (1976).
• Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo (1982).
• Betsey Brown (1985).
• Liliane (1994).
• Some Sing, Some Cry (2010) (with Ifa Bayeza).

Children's Books

• Coretta Scott (2009).
• Ellington Was Not a Street (2003).
• Float Like a Butterfly: Muhammad Ali, the Man Who Could Float Like a Butterfly and Sting Like a Bee (2002).
• Daddy Says (2003).
• Whitewash (1997).

Essays and Non-Fiction

• See No Evil: Prefaces, Essays & Accounts, 1976–1983 (1984).
• Foreword in The Black Book by Robert Mapplethorpe (1986).
• if i can cook / you know god can (1998).
• Dance We Do: A Poet Explores Black Dance (2020).

See also

In Spanish: Ntozake Shange para niños