A poet, playwright, prose writer, performance artist, and editor of Catalyst magazine. Pearl Cleage was born in Detroit, Michigan 1948, and was educated at Howard University, Spelman College, and Atlanta University. Her father, Jaramogi Abebe Azaman (Albert Cleage), founded and developed Black Christian Nationalism. She also came under the direct influence of the political and intellectual ferment of the 1960s and 1970s (—Carol P. Marsh-Lockett in THE C O N C I S E OXFORD COMPANION TO African American Literature , p. 99).
Cleage’s parents believed it was equally important to maintain an atmosphere that nurtured an appreciation and knowledge of black culture and academics. Pearl and her older sister were expected to surpass academically and were introduced to controversial ideologies in an effort to expand their intellectualism. According to Cleage, she found herself the works of Langston Hughes, Simone de Beauvoir, and Richard Wright strewn around her house. In addition, . Cleage attributes much of her passion for writing and subject matters to her family. In a personal essay, Cleage stated:
There were books all over the place in my house when I was growing up. I came from a family of people who were
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Cleage’s dramas follow in the tradition of socially active and politically aware theatre and join the rankings together with other playwrights, such as Arthur Miller, Lorraine Hansberry, Eugene O’Neill, and Amiri Baraka. Further, Cleage is an accomplished novelist. Continuing her major themes of sexism and racism as they relate to black women, her novels include: What Looks Like Crazy On an Ordinary Day (1998), an Oprah Book Club Selection (September 1998); Babylon Sisters (2006), I Wish I Had a Red Dress (2009), Till You Hear from Me (2010), and Just Wanna Testify (2011). (Long,