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GAZETTE: Tell me about the book you just edited, which is due out in September.

PERRY: I was fortunate to be asked by Hachette and the Ntozake Shange estate to edit a collection of her unpublished writing. Even though Shange was so prolific, and published so much, there was still this beautiful body of material the world hadn’t seen yet.

In so many ways she followed [“A Raisin in the Sun” playwright] Lorraine Hansberry in opening doors for Black women in American theater. That felt like a wonderful connection. I also remember being in Cambridge as a kid, and my mother would always perform the Lady in Green character from [Shange’s 1976 play] “for colored girls [who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf]” at parties and the like.

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The Wisconsin Book Festival is soon approaching and Madison Public Library in partnership with Madison Public Library Foundation is getting ready for the Oct. 19-22 dates by hosting exciting events to lead into the literary celebration.

For poetry and Black literature fans alike, an upcoming online event centering Ntozake Shange’s new posthumous collection called “Sing A Black Girl’s Song” will be offered free to the public on Sept. 20, 7 p.m., on Crowdcast.

The collection included unpublished poems, essays, and plays that explore experiences both as a Black woman in America, and as a human in the grand scheme of existence. Shange uses her voice and writings as a way to share an often underrepresented perspective while providing space for fellow Black women to be seen and undertake the journey of healing.

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For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy, by Ryan Calais Cameron
Nominated for best new play at the 2023 Olivier Awards. Father figures and fashion tips. Lost loves and jollof rice. African empires and illicit sex. Good days and bad days. Six young Black men meet for group therapy, and let their hearts—and imaginations—run wild. Inspired by Ntozake Shange’s essential work for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf, For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy is a profound and playful work of drama.

Full list here.

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