Richard Wright

Richard Wright

Birth : 1908-09-04, Roxie, Mississippi, USA

Death : 1960-11-28

History

His powerful, eloquent work examined the injustices African-Americans face in a white society. He won immediate fame for his first novel, "Native Son" (1940). It tells the story of Bigger Thomas, a young chauffeur whose inarticulate rage over his lot ultimately erupts into violence. "Native Son" was adapted into a play directed by Orson Welles in 1941, filmed in 1951 with Wright himself playing Bigger, and again in 1986. Wright's other books include "Black Boy" (1945), an autobiography; the novels "The Outsider" (1953) and "The Long Dream" (1958); the story collections "Uncle Tom's Children" (1938) and "Eight Men" (1961); and the philosophical volumes "Black Power" (1954) and "White Man, Listen!" (1957). Richard Nathaniel Wright was born near Natchez, Mississippi. Largely self-educated, he began to write after moving to Chicago around 1927. He was a member of the Communist Party from 1932 to 1944; he later wrote of his disillusionment with that system in "The God That Failed" (1949), a collection of essays by former party members. Wright lived in Paris from 1946 until his death. A second book of memoirs, "American Hunger," was published posthumously in 1977.

Profile

Richard Wright

Movies

Native Son
Novel
A young black man named Bigger Thomas takes a job working for a highly influential Chicago family, a decision that will change the course of his life forever.
Richard Wright: Native Son, Author and Activist
Self
RICHARD WRIGHT was an African-American author of novels, short stories and non-fiction that dealt with powerful themes and controversial topics. Much of his works concerned racial themes that helped redefine discussions of race relations in America in the mid-20th century. Born on a plantation in Mississippi, Wright was a descendent of the first slaves who arrived in Jamestown Massachusetts. This program follows his arduous path from sharecropper to literary giant. Through authors like H.L. Menken, Sinclair Lewis, Theodore Dreiser, he discovered that literature could be used as a catalyst for social change. In 1937 Wright moved to New York and his work began to garner national attention for it's political and social commentary. Much of Wright's writing focused on the African American community and experience; his novel Native Son won him a Guggenheim Fellowship and was adapted to the Broadway stage with Orson Welles directing in 1941.
America's Dream
Story
Made especially for the HBO cable network, this well-wrought feature is comprised of three short stories by three noted black American authors, each of which is directed by a respected black director.
The Catwalk
Novel
Neighbors overcome, Cora and John meet in the favor of an accident - a fall from the balcony of the family apartment - which has suffered the son of Cora. Taking the man responsible for the state of her child, the mother yet close to John. A strange relationship develops between them.
Native Son
Writer
In 1940s Chicago, a young black man takes a job as a chauffeur to a white family, which takes a turn for the worse when he accidentally kills the teenage daughter of the couple and then tries to cover it up.
Almos' a Man
Writer
Although Dave (LeVar Burton) and his family are poor sharecroppers in the Deep South in the 1930's, this 15 year-olds problem is shared by teenagers today: he stands with one foot in adulthood and the other in childhood. "Almos' A Man", yet still treated like a child, he struggles for an identity. There's one thing, one symbol of manhood, Dave thinks, that could guarantee him instant respect: a gun.
Savage Sunday
Writer
Repressed middle-aged Catholic gets into a troublesome relationship with the prostitute next door and her little boy.
Native Son
Novel
Author Richard Wright portrays his novel's Bigger Thomas, a young chauffeur trapped in an accidental murder.
Native Son
Bigger Thomas
Author Richard Wright portrays his novel's Bigger Thomas, a young chauffeur trapped in an accidental murder.