Spotlight on Ntozake Shange

One of this season's most talked about films is For Colored Girls. As everyone knows, media mogul Tyler Perry is responsible for bringing this 21st century adaptation to the big screen. Viewers of this new film may not know as much about the story's original writer, Ntozake Shange.

Shange (given name: Paulette Williams) was born into an upper middle class family in Trenton, New Jersey. Her father was a surgeon, her mother an educator and social worker. The environment that Dr. and Mrs. Williams raised their children in was intellectually and creatively stimulating. Shange recalls, "My parents have always been especially involved in all kinds of Third World culture. We used to go to hear Latin music, jazz and symphonies, to see ballets." The Williams family home was, in fact, frequented by luminaries of the day, including W.E.B. DuBois, Paul Robeson, Dizzy Gillespie and a host of others. This semi-idyllic childhood provided seeds of inspiration for novels like Betsey Brown and the picture book, Ellington Was Not a Street.

As a young woman, Shange became involved in community arts groups and alongside this earned degrees and taught at prestigious liberal arts colleges across the country. For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf was her breakthrough theatrical work, and its first performances were staged restaurants, bars and community festivals in Berkley, California.

Shange's work is heavily infused with sensory references, interweaving history, fantasy and dream. It is cosmopolitan and country, a hybrid in every sense, often using multiligual references as a way to build bridges between cultures and brims with references to musical forms such as jazz, blues and Afro-Latin. Her sensibility is one that is not easily described. However, viewing the clips below may offer something of a glimpse:





To learn more:

CNN article on 2009 stage revival of For Colored Girls, including author speaking about inspiration for this work

Voices from the Gaps Ntozake Shange Artist's Page