Synopses & Reviews
North Carolina's Paul Green (1894-1981) was part of that remarkable generation of writers who first brought southern writing to the attention of the world. Winner of a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1927, Green was a restless experimenter who pioneered a new form of theater with his "symphonic drama,"
The Lost Colony. A concern for human rights characterized both his life and his writing, and his steady advocacy for educational and social reform and racial justice contributed in fundamental ways to the emerging New South in the first half of this century.
A Paul Green Reader makes available once again the work of this powerful and engaging writer. It features Green's drama and fiction, with texts of three playsincluding the Pulitzer Prize-winning In Abraham's Bosom and the famous second act of The Lost Colonyand six short stories. It also reveals the life behind the work through several of Green's essays and letters and an excerpt from The Wordbook, his collection of regional folklore. Laurence Avery's introduction outlines Green's life and examines the central concerns and techniques of his work.
A native of Harnett County, North Carolina, Paul Green was a devoted teacher of philosophy and drama at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Review
[Readers] will be rewarded by his realism, humor, intelligence, compassion, and plain good story-telling.
Independent Publisher
Review
[Readers] will be rewarded by his realism, humor, intelligence, compassion, and plain good story-telling.
Independent Publisher
Review
This book makes some of his finest works and thought available to a new generation of readers.
North Carolina Historical Review
Review
[A] brilliant achievement.
John Ehle
Review
[Revisits] an entire era in American literary, theatrical, and political history.
Southern Quarterly
Synopsis
A collection of works by Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Paul Green (1894-1981), including short stories, essays, letters, plays, and a selection from The Lost Colony. An introduction outlines Green•s life and work.
Table of Contents
Contents
Introduction
Part I. Plays
In Abraham's Bosom: The Tragedy of a Southern Negro
Hymn to the Rising Sun: A Drama of Man's Waste
The Lost Colony: A Symphonic Drama of Man's Faith and Work (Act 2)
Part II. Stories
The Cornshucking
Salvation on a String
Saturday Night
Bernie and the Britches
The Ghost in the Tree
Fine Wagon
Part III. On Race and Human Rights
To Ward Morehouse on In Abraham's Bosom
To J. C. B. Ehringhaus and M. Hugh Thompson on the Bittings Case
To E. M. Land on the Wellmon Case
Part IV. On Writing, Education, and Life
Drama and the Weather
The University in a Nuclear Age
To James Holly Hanford on the Development of North Carolina
Paul Green's Wordbook: An Alphabet of Reminiscence (excerpt)
Textual Notes
Paul Green's Books