Ntozake Shange

Ntozake Shange
Shange in 1978
Born
Paulette Linda Williams

(1948-10-18)October 18, 1948
Trenton, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedOctober 27, 2018(2018-10-27) (aged 70)
Bowie, Maryland, U.S.
EducationColumbia University (BA)
University of Southern California (MA)
Occupations
  • Playwright
  • author
  • poet
Known forfor colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf (1975)
RelativesIfa Bayeza (sister)
Bisa Williams (sister)
Websiteofficialntozakeshange.com

Ntozake Shange (/ˌɛntoʊˈzɑːki ˈʃɑːŋɡeɪ/ EN-toh-ZAH-kee SHAHNG-Ê;[1] October 18, 1948 – October 27, 2018) was an American playwright and poet.[2] As a Black feminist, she addressed issues relating to race and Black power in much of her work. She is best known for her Obie Award–winning play, for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf (1975). She also penned novels including Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo (1982), Liliane (1994), and Betsey Brown (1985), about an African-American girl run away from home.

Among Shange's honors and awards were fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and Lila Wallace Reader's Digest Fund, a Shelley Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America, and a Pushcart Prize. In April 2016, Barnard College announced that it had acquired Shange's archive.[3]

  1. ^ Ntozake Shange Biography, FilmReference.com. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
  2. ^ Lester, Neal A. (Winter 1990), "At the Heart of Shange's Feminism: An Interview", Black American Literature Forum, 24(4: Women Writers Issue): 717–730. JSTOR 3041798.
  3. ^ Gans, Andrew (April 18, 2016). "Barnard College Acquires Archives of Ntozake Shange". Playbill. Retrieved April 19, 2016.