Williams In an Hour

A young Tennessee Williams listened as the doctor diagnosed him with diphtheria, a disease that kept him housebound for months. Since he couldn't play outside with the other boys, his mother told him to read and write stories. Who knew that those stories would develop into poetic expressions never heard before on the American stage. Williams' cinematic and lyrical style reached its height in The Glass Menagerie, which premiered in Chicago in 1944.

Setting the playwright in context to his personal life, social, historical and political events, other writers of influence, and more, you will quickly gain a deep understanding of Williams and the plays he wrote. Read Williams in an Hour and experience his plays like never before. Know the playwright, love the play!

The book features:

• Williams in an Hour, the main essay of the book

• Williams In a Minute, a snapshot chronology

• A complete listing of Williams' work

• A list of Williams' contemporaries in all fields

• Excerpts from Williams' significant works

• An extensive bibliography grouped according to type of reader

• An index of the main essay.

Playwrights in an Hour is a series devoted to the most produced and studied playwrights in the English language, from the Greek masters to contemporary writers, and written by leading authorities in the field. Each short book places the playwright and his or her work in historical, social, and literary context.

A young Tennessee Williams listened as the doctor diagnosed him with diphtheria, a disease that kept him housebound for months. Since he couldn't play outside with the other boys, his mother told him to read and write stories. Who knew that those stories would develop into poetic expressions never heard before on the American stage. Williams' cinematic and lyrical style reached its height in The Glass Menagerie, which premiered in Chicago in 1944.

Setting the playwright in context to his personal life, social, historical and political events, other writers of influence, and more, you will quickly gain a deep understanding of Williams and the plays he wrote. Read Williams in an Hour and experience his plays like never before. Know the playwright, love the play!

The book features:

• Williams in an Hour, the main essay of the book

• Williams In a Minute, a snapshot chronology

• A complete listing of Williams' work

• A list of Williams' contemporaries in all fields

• Excerpts from Williams' significant works

• An extensive bibliography grouped according to type of reader

• An index of the main essay.

Playwrights in an Hour is a series devoted to the most produced and studied playwrights in the English language, from the Greek masters to contemporary writers, and written by leading authorities in the field. Each short book places the playwright and his or her work in historical, social, and literary context.

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[Playwrights in an Hour Series is] a quick and easy alternative to Wikipedia ...

Michael Paller is the Dramaturge and Director of Humanities at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, where he is also a member of the core faculty of the M.F.A. Acting program. He is the author of Gentlemen Callers: Tennessee Williams, Homosexuality and Mid-Twentieth Century Drama (Palgrave Macmillan). He has taught at Purchase College and Columbia University and was the Dramaturge for the Russian premiere of Williams' Small Craft Warnings (directed by Richard Corley) at Moscow's Sovremennic Theatre. He has written for many publications, including The Village Voice, The Washington Post, Newsday, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Mirabella, and others. He has degrees from Syracuse University and Columbia University.