Pearl Cleage facts for kids

Pearl Cleage (pronounced KLEG; born December 7, 1948) is an African-American writer. She writes plays, essays, novels, and poems. She is also a political activist who cares deeply about fairness and equality.

Currently, Pearl Cleage is the Playwright in Residence at the Alliance Theatre and at the Just Us Theater Company. Her writings often explore important topics, especially about being an African-American woman. Many of her works are very popular and have received great reviews. Her novel, What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day (1997), was even chosen for Oprah Winfrey's Book Club in 1998.

Early Life and Learning

Pearl Cleage was born on December 7, 1948, in Springfield, Massachusetts. She is the younger of two daughters. Her mother, Doris Cleage, was an elementary school teacher. Her father, Rev. Albert Cleage, started the Pan African Orthodox Christian Church. He later changed his name to Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman.

After her father's teachings caused some strong reactions, her family moved to Detroit, Michigan. There, Rev. Cleage became an important leader in the Civil rights movement. He helped create a community that supported Black empowerment. Pearl Cleage grew up surrounded by activists, including her own family.

She often heard writers speak at her father's church. She also met famous people from the Civil Rights Movement who visited her home. These experiences helped shape her dream of becoming a writer. Pearl Cleage knew she wanted to write since she was two years old.

She finished high school in Detroit in 1966. From 1966 to 1969, she studied playwriting at Howard University in Washington, D.C.. While there, she wrote and produced two short plays. In 1969, she moved to Atlanta, Georgia. She later earned a bachelor's degree in drama from Spelman College in 1971. After Spelman, she continued her studies at Atlanta University.

Her Writing Career

Pearl Cleage has been a writer for over 40 years. She loves writing in different ways, including plays, essays, novels, and poems. Before becoming a full-time author, she worked for Maynard Jackson. He was Atlanta's first Black mayor. She was his press secretary and speechwriter in the 1970s. However, she felt limited writing other people's ideas. This led her to focus on her own creative writing.

Cleage has worked at many theaters and schools. From 1986 to 1991, she was a professor at Spelman College. In 1991, she became the Playwright in Residence at Spelman. She also taught at Smith College.

She is currently the Playwright in Residence and artistic director of the Just Us Theater Company. Since 2013, she has also been the Playwright in Residence at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. This position was supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. She shares her experiences from this role in the HowlRound journal.

Pearl Cleage is one of the important African American female playwrights. She started writing plays in the 1980s. Her first play, Puppetplay, was in 1981. Other early plays include Hospice (1983) and Good News (1984). In the 1990s, she created some of her most famous plays. These include Flyin' West (1992), Blues for an Alabama Sky (1995), and Bourbon at the Border (1997). These plays were performed at the Alliance Theatre.

Flyin' West became very popular. It was performed over a dozen times across the country, including at the Kennedy Center. It was the most produced new play in 1994. In 1996, Blues for an Alabama Sky was part of the Cultural Olympiad during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

Cleage has also contributed to journalism. She founded and has edited the literary magazine Catalyst since 1987. In the 1990s, she wrote a regular column for the Atlanta Tribune. Her articles have also appeared in magazines like Essence and The New York Times Book Review.

She began writing novels in the mid-1990s. Her novels often discuss important social issues, especially how racism and sexism affect Black communities. She is also an activist for AIDS awareness and women's rights. She uses these experiences to inspire her writing. She also speaks at colleges and conferences about topics like community involvement and writing.

Personal Life

In 1969, Pearl Cleage married Michael Lomax. He was a politician in Atlanta. They had a daughter named Deignan Njeri. They divorced in 1979. In 1994, Cleage married Zaron Burnett Jr., who is a writer and director for the Just Us Theater Company. She has four grandchildren.

In 2014, Cleage published a book called Things I Should Have Told My Daughter: Lies, Lessons, and Love Affairs. This book shares entries from her personal journals. She originally wanted to share these entries with her granddaughter. The book covers her life from age 11 to 29.

Pearl Cleage is also a political activist. She feels strongly connected to the 1960s. The major social movements of that time, like the Civil rights movement and the Women's Movement, have greatly influenced her writing. She describes herself as a "third-generation black nationalist and a radical feminist."

Through her life and work, Cleage promotes the idea of "Free Womanhood." She first used this term in a speech at Spelman College in 1995. This idea offers hope and motivation to Black women. In her book, Mad at Miles: A Black Woman's Guide to Truth (1990), she explains her goal: "I am writing to expose and explore the point where racism and sexism meet. I am writing to help understand the full effects of being black and female in a culture that is both racist and sexist." She offers real solutions to the challenges Black women face.

In an interview, Cleage shared that she loved reading and writing because she had many books by Black authors. Her family also encouraged her to write about the struggles of Black people. She found this inspiring, not limiting. She also owned a bookstore and cultural center at one of her father's churches. Artists from the Black Arts Movement would meet there. Cleage was inspired by the constant discussions about Black identity.

Her Works

Pearl Cleage's works are often included in collections of writings. These include Double Stitch (1991) and Contemporary Plays by Women of Color (1996). Flyin' West and Other Plays (1999) is a collection of all her plays up to that year. Her works have also been studied and analyzed by many scholars.

Novels

• The Brass Bed and Other Stories (1991)
• What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day (1997)
• I Wish I Had a Red Dress (2001)
• Some Things I Never Thought I'd Do (2003)
• Babylon Sisters: A Novel (2005)
• Baby Brother's Blues (2006)
• Seen It All and Done the Rest (2008)
• Till You Hear From Me (2010)
• Just Wanna Testify (2011)

Plays

• Puppetplay (1981)
• Hospice (1983)
• Good News (1984)
• Essentials (1985)
• Porch Songs (1985)
• Come Get These Memories (1987)
• Chain (1992)
• Late Bus to Mecca (1992)
• Flyin' West (1992)
• Blues for an Alabama Sky (1995)
• Bourbon at the Border (1997)
• We Speak Your Names: A Celebration, with Zaron W. Burnett (2006)
• A Song for Coretta, (2008)
• What I Learned in Paris
• The Nacirema Society (2013)
• Tell Me My Dream (2015)
• Angry, Raucous and Shamelessly Gorgeous (2019)

Essays

• Mad at Miles: A Black Woman's Guide to Truth (1990)
• Deals with the Devil and Other Reasons to Riot (1993)
• Things I Should Have Told My Daughter: Lies, Lessons and Love Affairs (2014)

Poetry

• Dear Dark Faces: Portraits of a People (1980)
• One for the Brothers (1983)
• We Speak Your Names: A Celebration (2005)

Themes and Messages

Pearl Cleage's works often focus on issues of race and gender. She explores how these challenges affect Black women's lives. Her writing is shaped by the political and social movements she experienced in the 1960s. She feels a responsibility to share the real lives of Black women. Her stories are inspired by her own experiences and those of women close to her.

Her works have changed over time to reflect the issues facing her community. As she gets older, her identity as a Black woman also includes her age. These newer challenges are now appearing in her work, like in her play Angry, Raucous and Shamelessly Gorgeous (2019). Many of her novels are set in neighborhoods in Atlanta, Georgia.

Cleage is not afraid to show sensitive topics in her works. She explores complex issues related to race and gender. For example, she addresses domestic violence. These themes are central to many of her plays, such as Flyin' West (1992), Blues for an Alabama Sky (1995), and Bourbon at the Border (1997). These three plays are often seen as a series, even though they are not officially marketed that way. They feature the same characters and share themes of "violence, freedom, and traumatic memory" in Black communities. Cleage introduces these topics to encourage understanding and discussion.

Critics have noted her unique way of telling historical events. She does not focus on famous figures. Instead, she tells fictional stories about everyday people living through these events. This helps readers understand their own roles and impacts on history.

Even though her characters are fictional, Cleage's plays are based on real stories, lives, and emotions. This is especially true for urban African American communities. Cleage wants to share difficult truths. At the same time, she wants to give a message of hope and love for humanity, including all its imperfections. She believes in openly sharing life's realities, both good and bad choices, and their effects. She feels it is important for younger generations to understand this.

Pearl Cleage has said that her main audience is African American women. However, she welcomes everyone to enjoy her work.

See also

In Spanish: Pearl Cleage para niños

• American Literature
• African-American literature
• Womanism