How to Leave a Literary Legacy with Lorraine Hansberry

Reed, Write, and Create

On episode nine of the podcast, I’m sharing a pep talk meant to encourage you to seize your moment to write. You must get your stories out into the world, so that you can leave a legacy of your words, your wisdom, and your dreams behind. Writing is such a powerful tool to leave a lasting legacy for our loved ones and for the world. Just look at the work our literary ancestors have left behind for us to learn from and love. To drive home my point, I’m going to be sharing the life and times of the award-winning playwright, Lorraine Hansberry who died at age 34, but whose work continues to impact the world today.

Lorraine Hansberry was a writer and racial justice activist. She wrote articles, essays and plays, in her abbreviated lifetime, but she is most well-known for her groundbreaking and award-winning play, A Raisin in the Sun.

During the episode you’ll learn:

• • How a horrible childhood experience for Lorraine Hansberry inspired A Raisin in the Sun.

• The awards and accolades, A Raisin in the Sun brought to Hansberry’s life.

• What role Langston Hughes played in Lorraine Hansberry’s creative life.
• The surprising connection between Nina Simone and Lorraine Hansberry.
• What it means to be, “young, gifted and Black,” according to Lorraine Hansberry.
• What lessons can we learn from Lorraine Hansberry about leaving a literary legacy?

Links from the Show

To learn more about Lorraine Hansberry, read Dr. Imani Perry’s new-ish, award-winning biography, Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry

Langston Hughes poem Harlem/ A Dream Deferred can be read here.

Don’t forget, I am hosting a one- day intensive workshop on Sunday May 7 on How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal, open to any and all writers working on a nonfiction book, including memoir. If you want to sell a nonfiction book to a publisher, you have to write a proposal first. So, if you’re ready to start pitching agents with your nonfiction book, you should register for my workshop because you’ll leave the workshop with a template and a working outline for your proposal. Follow this link to register for the workshop.

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If you’re looking for more creative writing inspiration, writing prompts and useful resources for your literary life, be sure to check out all of the amazing content at ReadWriteandCreate.com. And follow Read,Write, and Create on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. You can also follow me, LoriLTharps on Instagram, where I’m always sharing #Lit content.

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Thank you!