Ntozake Shange Biography | Author of Betsey Brown

This Study Guide consists of approximately 81 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Betsey Brown.

Ntozake Shange Biography | Author of Betsey Brown

This Study Guide consists of approximately 81 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Betsey Brown.
This section contains 508 words
(approx. 2 pages at 400 words per page)
Buy the Betsey Brown Study Guide

Shange, originally named Paulette Williams, was born on October 18, 1948, in Trenton, New Jersey. She was the oldest of four children growing up in a materially comfortable, intellectually stimulating, and politically aware household. Her father, a surgeon, and her mother, a psychiatric social worker, were friends with some of the most notable African-American artists of the day. Jazz giant Miles Davis and race leader and educator W. E. B. DuBois were among the luminaries who were guests at the Williams home.

Shange's parents were what "used to be called 'race people.' Life was dedicated to the betterment of the race," Shange explained in an interview with Serena Anderlini in the Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism. However, they were not radicals. Their aspirations for her included going to college and marrying a doctor.

Shange's family moved from Trenton to St. Louis, Missouri, when Shange was eight...

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This section contains 508 words
(approx. 2 pages at 400 words per page)
Buy the Betsey Brown Study Guide
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