Category Archives: Emmett Till

William Faulkner’s Light in August was published in the early 1930s, which was also the span of years during which the number of lynchings of African-Americans in the United States reached its peak (http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/shipp/lynchingyear.html).   The central character, Joe Christmas, is … Continue reading →

As a writer, I am inevitably interested in approaches to storytelling.  When I heard that Kevin Simmonds and Judy Halebsky were planning a Noh-inflected telling of the story of Emmett Till, I was intrigued, because it certainly was not obvious … Continue reading →

Emmett Till, a river, a Noh play by Kevin Simmonds and Judy Halebsky, is the contribution of Theatre of Yugen to the rich literary and dramatic legacy of Emmett Till’s story.  The magnitude of that legacy is suggested by the … Continue reading →