Tuesday, October 04, 2005

August Wilson RIP

It's sad to hear August Wilson has died. He was a long-time Seattle resident, and I actually met him at a party once — he was a very kind, soft-spoken gentle person, and not at all full of himself. The party was at our neighbor's house (he was a theater director) and his very large dog was walking around and snarling and barking at people. August Wilson and I ran into each other in a back hallway, and bonded over the fact that we were both afraid of dogs, and felt a little uncomfortable with this one being loose at the party. We shared a little laugh about our irrational fears (the dog was really an old, arthritic, harmless pooch, and not viscious at all, but when you are afraid you are afraid, what can I say?). I also discovered that we both liked to write while sitting out at coffee shops and restaurants. I hope they come out with all ten of his play cycle in one volume someday. I'd love to read them back to back.

1 comment:

Esther Altshul Helfgott said...

nice anecdote, peter. yes, what a fine man.