Lanford Wilson

Raymond Schultz (University of Minnesota)

Ed. by Nick Selby, University of East Anglia
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.4: American (US) Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Sofia Ahlberg (Uppsala University), Patrick Chura (University of Akron), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Christopher Hugh Gair (University of Glasgow), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Dates

Born 13 Apr 1937
Died 24 Mar 2011
Activity 1963-2011

Places

Born in United States
Active in United States

Cultural Identities

LGBTQ

Activities

Primary

Playwright / Dramatist

Resources

Wilson's Works

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Lanford Eugene Wilson was born on April 13, 1937, in Lebanon, a small town in rural Missouri. His family was poor, and when he was five his mother took a job in a garment factory in Springfield, 50 miles away. His father deserted them and moved to California, eventually remarrying and starting another family. His mother also remarried when Wilson was thirteen; his stepfather, a dairy inspector, although by no means abusive, did not particularly bond with the boy. This fractured family structure represents a central motif in the majority of Wilson’s writing, namely the human impulse to belong to a family unit, whether nuclear or extended. In an interview Wilson admits: “A friend of mine once told me that in all my work I’m either trying to put my family back together again or to…

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2847 words

Citation: Schultz, Raymond. "Lanford Wilson". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 August 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5739, accessed 23 November 2024.]