Pearl Cleage facts for kids

Pearl Cleage (born December 7, 1948) is an African-American writer. She writes plays, essays, novels, and poems. She is also a political activist. Pearl Cleage is currently the Playwright in Residence at the Alliance Theatre and at the Just Us Theater Company.

Cleage is known for her strong views, especially about being an African-American woman. Her work often explores issues where racism and sexism meet. Many of her writings have been collected in books and studied by experts. Her novel What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day (1997) was chosen for Oprah's Book Club in 1998.

Early Life and Education

Pearl Cleage was born on December 7, 1948, in Springfield, Massachusetts. 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 strong beliefs caused some challenges, 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 listened to writers speak at her father’s church. She also met important figures from the Civil Rights Movement who visited her home. These experiences helped shape her dream of becoming a writer.

Pearl Cleage was a very curious child who loved stories. She knew she wanted to write from a very young age. She finished high school in Detroit in 1966. From 1966 to 1969, Cleage studied playwriting at Howard University in Washington, D.C. While there, she wrote two short plays.

In 1969, she moved to Atlanta, Georgia. She married politician Michael Lomax, but they later divorced in 1979. In Atlanta, she attended Spelman College, where she earned a degree in drama in 1971. After graduating from Spelman, Cleage went to graduate school at Atlanta University.

Her Writing Career

Pearl Cleage always wanted to be a writer. She has been working as a writer for over 40 years. She writes in many different ways, including plays, essays, novels, and poems. She enjoys being able to write in various styles.

Before becoming a creative writer, in the 1970s, she worked for Maynard Jackson. He was Atlanta's first Black Mayor. She was his press secretary and speechwriter. However, she felt limited because she was writing other people's ideas. This made her decide to leave that job and become an author.

Cleage has worked at several theaters and schools. From 1986 to 1991, she was a professor at Spelman College in Atlanta. In 1991, she became the Playwright in Residence at Spelman. She also taught for a while at Smith College. Cleage is currently the Playwright in Residence and artistic director of the Just Us Theater Company.

In 2013, she became the Playwright in Residence at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. This was part of a special program. Her time there was extended for another three years in 2016. Cleage writes about her experiences at the Alliance Theatre 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 wrote three of her most famous plays: 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 (1992) has been performed many times across the country. It was even shown at the Kennedy Center. It was the most produced new play in 1994. In 1996, Blues for an Alabama Sky (1995) was performed during the Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

Cleage has also written for newspapers and magazines. She started the literary magazine Catalyst and has been its editor since 1987. In the 1990s, she had a regular column in the Atlanta Tribune. Her articles have also appeared in magazines like Essence and The New York Times Book Review.

Cleage began writing novels in the mid-1990s. She supports the Obama administration. Cleage is also an activist for AIDS awareness and women's rights. She uses these experiences in her writing. She also gives talks at colleges and conferences. She speaks about topics like the role of citizens in a democracy and how to write.

Personal Life

In 1969, Pearl Cleage married Michael Lomax. He was an Atlanta politician. 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 journal. It covers her life from age 11 through the next 18 years. She originally wanted to share these entries with her granddaughter.

Cleage is also a political activist. She feels strongly connected to the 1960s. The three main social movements of that time shaped her writing. These were the Civil Rights Movement, the Antiwar Movement, and the Women's Movement. Cleage describes herself as a "third-generation black nationalist and a radical feminist."

Through her life and work, Cleage talks about "Free Womanhood." This is a term she created. It means living a life of freedom and strength, especially for Black women. She wants to give hope and motivation to Black women. In her book, Mad at Miles: A Black Woman's Guide to Truth (1990), she explains her goal. She writes to explore where racism and sexism meet. She wants to help people understand what it's like to be Black and female in a world that can be both racist and sexist. She offers real solutions for the challenges Black women face.

In an interview, Cleage said 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 didn't see this as a limitation. 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 talks about Black culture.

Her Works

Many of Cleage's works are included in collections like Double Stitch (1991) and Black Drama in America. Flyin' West and Other Plays (1999) is a collection of all her plays up to that year. Her works have also been studied 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 in Her Work

Pearl Cleage often writes about race and gender, especially how these challenges affect Black women. Her experiences during the political and social movements of the 1960s have greatly influenced her writing. She feels a responsibility to the Black female community. She writes about the real lives of Black women, drawing inspiration from her own experiences and those of women she knows.

Her works have changed over time to show the issues facing her community. As she gets older, age also becomes part of her identity. These newer challenges are now seen in her work, like in her recent play Angry, Raucous and Shamelessly Gorgeous (2019). Many of her novels are set in neighborhoods in Atlanta, Georgia.

Cleage is not afraid to show difficult topics in her works. 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). Some critics see these three plays as a series, even though they are not officially marketed that way. They feature the same characters and explore common themes like freedom and difficult memories in Black communities. Cleage uses these topics to encourage understanding and discussion.

Critics have also noted how she tells historical events. She does this not by showing famous people, but through fictional stories of everyday people living through these times. This helps people understand their own unique roles in history.

Even though her characters are made up, Cleage's plays tell real stories and emotions. This is especially true for urban African American communities. Cleage wants to share difficult truths. But she also wants to give a message of hope and love for humanity, including all its flaws. She believes in openly sharing the realities of life choices, both good and bad, with young people.

Throughout her work, Cleage wants to show African American women as they live their daily lives. For example, in her play Flyin' West (1992), she shows formerly enslaved African American women creating a community and working to stay free. Cleage has said that Black women in America are her main audience. However, she welcomes everyone to enjoy her work.

See also

In Spanish: Pearl Cleage para niños

• American Literature
• African-American literature
• Womanism