Norman Gee--Part 2 (6:56)

Introducing other authors whose works will be read during the performances, Gee explains their relationship to Wright. Gee references Richard Wright's, Black Boy and Native Son, James Baldwin's Notes of a Native Son, Chester Himes an author, Ollie Harrington, a cartoonist, and Harrington's book of essays titled Why I Left America.

Part 2--Richard Wright: Audience and Message
Part 2 - Very Close to CD-Quality MPEG-4 (Broadband) (9.8M)
Part 1 - High Quality MPEG-4 (ISDN) (5M)
Part 1 - Highest Quality MPEG-4 available for Dial_up (3.1M)

Norman Gee--Part 1 (6:39)

Norman Gee, is the originator, artistic director and producer of Oakland Public Theatre in Oakland, California. As an Oakland actor and director he saw a need for a theatre whose mission was to serve the people of Oakland. Hence he created Oakland Public Theatre many of whose productions are performed in public spaces such as colleges and libraries. In honor of Richard Wright's hundredth birthday, he and Richard Talaveras, a local playwright, have initiated the Richard Wright Centennial Project, a series of ten readings that include Richard Wright's as well as other African American writers whose lives intersected Wright's life. The third reading of the series was performed at the San Francisco Public Library on Sunday, December 16, 2007. The series continues through the Spring and Summer 2008 at various locations.

In the first part of the interview, Gee discusses the project, providing background about its origins and it's parameters which includes a brief introduction to James Baldwin, author of Go Tell It on the Mountain.

The interview was conducted on October 7, 2007.

Part 1--The Richard Wright Centennial Project
Part 1 - Very Close to CD-Quality MPEG-4 (Broadband) (9.4M)
Part 1 - High Quality MPEG-4 (ISDN) (4.8M)
Part 1 - Highest Quality MPEG-4 available for Dial_up (3.0M)