“I have the power of death” (Wilson 29). You may recognize this quote from Boy Willie in The Piano Lesson by August Wilson, an African-American playwright. In this essay I will highlight some things about his life. According to (Britannica Concise Encyclopedia) August Wilson was born on April 27, 1945 in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was born Frederick August Kittel, Jr. The son of a German immigrant named Frederick August Kittel and his mother was an African American named Daisy Wilson. August was the fourth of six children. He and his siblings grew up in a two-room apartment above a grocery store for much of August Wilson's childhood. After Wilson's parents divorced, his mother married David Bedford, and his mother and siblings moved to a predominantly white suburb in the Oakland section in 1961. After being bullied in the student's daily life, he moved to Connelly Vocational High School and later to Gladstone High School. According to (www.biography.com) when August was 15, he pursued an independent education at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. August dropped out because his teacher accused him of plagiarizing a twenty-page report on Napoleon. According to the World Book (Adler) “August Wilson was a prominent African-American playwright. His work is a cycle of ten plays called "The Pittsburgh Cycle" that traces the black experience in America. Mr. Wilson has created a total of ten plays based on the 20th century. A work for every decade. August wrote about the ever-changing structure of African-American life. The idea of ​​the play for each decade only came to him later, when he looked at the dates of his previous works; 1911, 1927, 1941, 1957 and 1971. He thought about it and the idea of ​​a...... medium of paper......1. Adler, Thomas. "Wilson August." Book of the world.. 1st. Chicago: 2008. Print.2. “A playwright's work is never done.” Tell me more May 8, 2007. General OneFile. Network. 12 December 2013.3. "The strength of a widow." Tell me more May 8, 2007. General OneFile. Network. 12 December 2013.4. “Marquee Wilson.” Hollywood Reporter October 18, 2005: 3. General OneFile. Network. 12 December 2013.5. "August Wilson." 2013. The Biography Channel website. December 12, 2013, 02:136. "August Wilson." The concise Oxford companion to African American literature. Oxford University Press, Inc., 2001, 2002. Answers.com December 12, 2013. http://www.answers.com/topic/august-wilson7. "August Wilson." Concise Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1994-2010. Answers.com December 12, 2013. http://www.answers.com/topic/august-wilson8. Wilson, August. The piano lesson. New York: Theater Communications Group, 2007. Print