Results by title

3 books match the query 'Adell, Sandra'

cover of Contemporary Plays by African American Women: Ten Complete Works

Contemporary Plays by African American Women

Ten Complete Works

Edited by Sandra Adell

University of Illinois Press, 2015

African American women have increasingly begun to see their plays performed from regional stages to Broadway. Yet many of these artists still struggle to gain attention. In this volume, Sandra Adell draws from the vital wellspring of works created by African American women in the twenty-first century to present ten plays by both prominent and up-and-coming writers. Taken together, the selections portray how these women engage with history as they delve into--and shake up--issues of gender and class to craft compelling stories of African American life. Gliding from gritty urbanism to rural landscapes, these works expand boundaries and boldly disrupt modes of theatrical representation.

Selections: Blue Door, by Tanya Barfield; Levee James, by S. M. Shephard-Massat; Hoodoo Love, by Katori Hall; Carnaval, by Nikkole Salter; Single Black Female, by Lisa B. Thompson; Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine, by Lynn Nottage; BlackTop Sky, by Christina Anderson; Voyeurs de Venus, by Lydia Diamond; Fedra, by J. Nicole Brooks; and Uppa Creek: A Modern Anachronistic Parody in the Minstrel Tradition, by Keli Garrett.

[more]
cover of Double-Consciousness/Double Bind: Theoretical Issues in Twentieth-Century Black Literature

Double-Consciousness/Double Bind

Theoretical Issues in Twentieth-Century Black Literature

Sandra Adell

University of Illinois Press, 1994

Sandra Adell looks at Black literature and criticism's relationship with the complex ensemble of Western literature, criticism, and philosophy. Adell begins with an analysis of the metaphysical foundations of W. E. B. Du Bois's famous formulation of double-consciousness and how Black writing bears the traces of such European philosophers as Kant, Hegel, and Marx. She then examines, in the double context of black literature and European philosophy, the writings of major authors and essayists like Richard Wright, Leopold Senghor, Maya Angelou, Houston A. Baker, Jr., and Henry Louis Gates Jr. and offers a thoughtful analysis of the "double bind" created by conflicting claims of Euro- and Afrocentrism in Black literature.
[more]
cover of When the Casinos Came: Black Women’s Stories about Gambling, Addiction, Recovery

When the Casinos Came

Black Women’s Stories about Gambling, Addiction, Recovery

Sandra Adell

University of Illinois Press, 2027

A compelling blend of personal histories and cultural critique, When the Casinos Came reveals the high costs America’s casino industry has on Black women. Through her own recovery story and those of other Black women, Adell describes how Black women become addicted to gambling at alarming rates even as casinos continue to be built in cities across the country. She also details the depression and mental health challenges Black women face, often alone, as they try to overcome their addiction. As Adell shows, gambling addiction among Black women remains an overlooked problem exacerbated by a lack of access to culturally responsive treatment. But she tells stories of recovery, resilience, hope, and support while calling for greater investments in gambling addiction treatment and prevention programs and stronger support systems for Black women within the recovery community.
[more]