Pearl Cleage

Pearl Cleage (December 7, 1948) (pronounced: "cleg") is an African-American playwright, essayist, novelist, poet and political activist.

She is currently the Playwright in Residence at the Alliance Theatre and at the Just Us Theater Company.

Cleage is a political activist.

She tackles issues at the crux of racism and sexism, and is known for her feminist views, particularly regarding her identity as an African-American woman.

Her works are highly anthologized and have been the subject of many scholarly analyses.

Many of her works across several genres have earned both popular and critical acclaim.

Pearl Cleage was born on December 7, 1948, in Springfield, Massachusetts, and is the younger of two daughters of Doris Cleage (née Graham), an elementary school teacher, and Rev. Albert Cleage, founder of the Pan African Orthodox Christian Church and the Shrine of the Black Madonna.

Her father changed his name to Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman in conjunction with the founding of his church.

After backlash resulting from her father's radical teachings, the family moved to Detroit, Michigan, where Rev. Cleage became a prominent civil rights leader.

Within his church and as a political activist, he fostered a community of black empowerment.

Pearl Cleage grew up surrounded by activists in her own family and community.

She listened to writers speaking at her father's church and met prominent figures of the Civil Rights Movement as they stopped by her house on their way to rallies, both of which were experiences that shaped her future aspirations and career.

In an article by Cassandra Spratling, Cleage is described as having been a "curious child," always seeking out a story.

She knew that she wanted to write since she was two years old.

Cleage graduated from Detroit Public Schools' Northwestern High School in 1966.

From 1966 to 1969, Cleage enrolled at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where she studied playwriting and produced two one-act plays as a student.

In 1969 she moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where she married politician Michael Lomax, whom she later divorced in 1979.

Prior to pursuing a career in creative writing, in the 1970s, she was the press secretary and speechwriter for Maynard Jackson, Atlanta's first Black Mayor.

However, she felt constrained in this role as a writer because she was writing the thoughts of someone else.

This dissatisfaction prompted her to leave this job and pursue becoming an author.

In Atlanta, she attended Spelman College, where she attained a bachelor's degree in drama in 1971.

Upon graduation from Spelman, Cleage enrolled in graduate school at Atlanta University.

Pearl Cleage always knew she wanted to be a writer and has maintained her career for 40 years.

She has made contributions to the literary world through several mediums as a playwright, essayist, novelist and poet.

She takes pride in her ability to write across different genres and enjoys doing so.

Cleage had her introduction to playwriting in the 1980s, producing her first play, Puppetplay, in 1981, which was followed by Hospice (1983), Good News (1984) and Essentials (1985).

Cleage has held positions at multiple theaters and institutions; from 1986 to 1991, Cleage was a Cosby Endowed Chair professor at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.

Cleage has also made significant journalistic contributions and is the founder of the literary magazine Catalyst and has been its editor since 1987.

In the 1990s, she produced three of her most well-known works (Flyin' West (1992), Blues for an Alabama Sky (1995) and Bourbon at the Border (1997)) at the Alliance Theatre in partnership with artistic director Kenny Leon.

In the 1990s, she had a recurring column in the Atlanta Tribune called "Stop Making Sense."

She was dubbed the Playwright in Residence at Spelman in 1991.

She also spent some time teaching at Smith College.

Cleage holds positions as the Playwright in Residence and artistic director of the Just Us Theater Company.

Flyin' West (1992) has since surpassed a dozen productions all over the country, including a run at the Kennedy Center and other notable productions in New York and Atlanta; it was the most produced new play in 1994.

In 1996, Blues for an Alabama Sky (1995) was performed as part of the Cultural Olympiad coinciding with the Summer Olympics held in Atlanta that year.

Her novel What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day (1997) was a 1998 Oprah's Book Club selection.

In 2013, Cleage became the Playwright in Residence at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta through the National Playwright Residency Program funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and administered by HowlRound.

The initial three-year term was renewed for an additional three years in 2016.

Cleage is documenting her residency with frequent writings in the HowlRound journal.

Not only is Cleage a member of the relatively small group of African American female playwrights, but it is made even smaller by her age and notable contributions to major theaters.