The College of Arts Sciences at Clayton State University will be inaugurating its William Woods Distinguished Lecture Series on Tuesday, Sept. 23, with, fittingly, one of metro Atlanta’s most distinguished author/playwrights, Pearl Cleage.
Currently the Mellon Playwright in Residence at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta where her new play, "What I Learned in Paris," opened the season last September,
Cleage will be appearing at Clayton State from 2:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m., in room UC272 of the James M. Baker University Center. She will be speaking about her writings, including her new memoir, “Things I Should Have Told My Daughter: Lies, Lessons, & Love Affairs,” and signing copies of her books, which are also available for purchase in Clayton State University’s The Loch Shop. Cleage’s presentation at Clayton State is free and open to the public.
Cleage’s works include award winning plays, bestselling novels and numerous columns, articles and essays for a wide variety of publications including Essence, Ebony, Rap Pages, Vibe, The Atlanta Tribune, and The Atlanta Journal Constitution. Her play “Flyin’ West,” which highlights the struggles of African-American homesteaders in Nicodemus, Kan., in 1894, was the most produced play in America in 1994. Her first novel, "What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day," was a 1998 Oprah Book Club pick and spent nine weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.
In all, she is the author of 13 plays and eight novels.