August Wilson’s American Century

A well-written biography that will persuade Wilson’s admirers to revisit his plays and introduce his work to a new generation of fans.

The world knows how August Wilson mythologized the Hill District of Pittsburgh, but far less about how that city shaped America’s greatest Black playwright. Drawing on decades of archival research and scores of original interviews, historian Laurence A. Glasco has now given the definitive biographical answer to that question. Glasco’s study of how Wilson’s early life in Pittsburgh shaped his outlook as an ‘outsider, warrior, race man, and poet’ is full of fascinating personal details—and sheds invaluable light on the timeless art that Wilson went on to create.

August Wilson’s American Century is a beautiful and moving portrait of the life and legacy of one of the most talented American playwrights of the twentieth century. Historian Laurence A. Glasco masterfully charts Wilson’s journey, demonstrating how the city of Pittsburgh fundamentally shaped his life and work. Drawing insights from an array of original research materials, including interviews with Wilson’s close friends and family, Glasco weaves a compelling narrative that captures the dynamic interplay of race, place, and identity.

In this major addition to August Wilson studies, Laurence A. Glasco reveals—as no biographer has done before—the intertwined, deeply embedded yet paradoxical connections between the playwright, his art, and the sometimes-fraught relationship with Pittsburgh and its Hill District neighborhood. Glasco calls upon his decades-long expertise as a respected historian and documentarian to situate Wilson squarely within the Pittsburgh landscape that shaped him—its institutions, familiar streets, and the people. Beyond being Wilson’s birthplace or serving as the metaphorical backdrop for the narratives that unfold in nine of his American Century Cycle plays, the Pittsburgh that Glasco portrays in this important study masterfully affirms the power of its place in Wilson’s magnum opus. Amid competing biographies and a plethora of scholarship, this study provides a clearer view of August Wilson from the ground—that is, from someone who has done the work and deeply understands the Pittsburgh landscape, the man, his family, his associates and the locals who sometimes make their way into one or more of his plays.

Laurence A. Glasco has written a painstakingly researched book about playwright August Wilson, highlighting the city of Pittsburgh’s significance in Wilson’s plays and, more importantly, in his life. August Wilson’s American Century: Life as Art is among the most significant contributions to Wilson studies to date. Glasco guides readers on a detailed journey through Wilson’s life—from beginning to end—revealing a complete person whose life extended beyond his role as a playwright.

Laurence A. Glasco crafts a vivid portrait of August Wilson’s early world. Grounded in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, August Wilson’s American Century follows the playwright’s roots, relationships, and self-formation with clarity and depth. Centering place as catalyst, Glasco reveals how Wilson’s artistry emerged through memory, migration, ancestral currents, and everyday experience.

August Wilson belongs among Shakespeare, Goethe, and Ibsen as one of the great playwrights of all time. Laurence A. Glasco has uncovered the life and labor behind the art. In August Wilson’s American Century, we witness the writer as a Pittsburgh boy exploring the library and playing baseball, a young poet exploring his Black identity in the 1960s, and a playwright drinking coffee and smoking in Seattle coffee shops as, against all odds, he writes another award-winning Broadway hit. Glasco has expanded the scholarship on Wilson to include missing pieces from Pittsburgh, his youth, and his place among Black intellectuals. A lively must-read for anybody interested in Wilson, Pittsburgh, or the American stage.