If you're in NYC the important theater news today outside of the Tony nominations, of course, is that "Fat Ham" which is about to premiere at the Public (in a co-production with the National Black Theatre) just won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. That's the same prize the Tony frontrunner "A Strange Loop" previously won. The Public describes the new work like so...
Juicy is a queer, Southern college kid, already grappling with some serious questions of identity, when the ghost of his father shows up in their backyard, demanding that Juicy avenge his murder. It feels like a familiar story to Juicy, well-versed in Hamlet’s woes. What’s different is Juicy himself, a sensitive and self-aware young Black man trying to break the cycles of trauma and violence in service of his own liberation. From an uproarious family barbecue emerges a compelling examination of love and loss, pain and joy. FAT HAM is a delectable comic tragedy directed by The Public’s Associate Artistic Director Saheem Ali.
"Fat Ham" opens this Thursday (May 12th) and runs for one month.
If you're not in NYC or don't go to the theater, you can find many reading and listening recommendations via the 15 journalism and 7 arts honors (book, drama, music) announced today as Pulitzer Prize finalists or winners.
LETTERS / DRAMA / MUSIC
Biography
- "The Doctors Blackwell" Janice P Nimura (WW Norton)
- ★ "Chasing Me to My Grave: An Artist's Memoir of Jim Crow South" The Late Winfred Rembert as told to Erin I Kelly (Bloomsbury)
- "Pessoa" Richard Zenith (Liveright)
General Nonfiction
- ★ "Invisible Child" Andrea Elliott (Random House)
- "Home, Land, Security" Carla Power (One World/Random House)
- "The Family Roe" Joshua Prager (WW Norton)
History
- ★ "Covered with Night" Nicole Eustace (Liveright)
- ★ "Cuba: An American History" Ada Ferrer (Scribner)
- "Until Justice Be Done" Kate Masur (WW Norton)
Poetry
- ★ "frank: sonnets" Dianne Seuss (Graywolf Press)
- "Yellow Rain" Mai Der Vang (Graywolf Press)
- "Refractive Africa: Ballet of the Forgotten" Will Alexander (New Directions)
Music
- "Seven Pillars" Andy Akiho
- ★ "Voiceless Mass" Raven Chacon
- "with eyes the color of time" Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti
Drama
- ★ "Fat Ham" James Ijames
- "Selling Kabul" Sylvia Khoury
- "Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord" - Kristina Wong
Fiction
- ★ "The Nettenyahus" Joshua Cohen (New York Review Books)
- "Monkey Boy" Francisco Goldman (Grove Press)
- "Palmares" Gayl Jones (Beacon Press)
JOURNALISM
Criticism
- ★ Salamishah Tillet (New York Times) - Stories on Black art and popular culture
- Peter Schjeldahl (New Yorker) - Art criticism
- Sophie Gilbert (The Atlantic) - Articles on gender norms, feminism, and popular culture
Editorial Writing
- Editorial Staff of the Times Picayune / The New Orleans Advocate - Editorials prompted by reporter sued for a public records request
- Abdallah Fayyad (The Boston Globe) - Editorials arguing that the President could be prosecuted for crimes committed in office
- ★ Lisa Falkenberg, Michael Lindenberger, Joe Holley, and Luis Carrasco (Houston Chronicle) - Editorial campaign that revealed voter supprsession tactics, rejecting myth of voting fraud, and argued for sensible voting reforms.
Illustrated Reporting and Commentary
image from the winning comic. Click to read.
- ★ Fahmida Azim, Anthony Del Col, Josh Adams, and Walt Hickey (Insider) - Using comics medium to describe Chinese oppression of Ugyhurs [read the comic here]
- Zoe Si (The New Yorker) -Capturing daily and political life in Pandemic
- Ann Telnaes (Washington Post) - Layered cartoons on social and political topics
Breaking News Photography
- Anonymous (New York Times) - images of the military coup in Myanmar
- ★ Win McNamee, Drew Angerer, Spencer Platt, Samuel Corum, John Cherry (Getty Images) - photos of attack on US capitol
- ★ Marcus Yam (Los Angeles Times) - US departure from Afghanistan
Feature Photography
- ★ Adnan Abidi, Sanna Irshad Mattoo, Amit Dave, and the late Danish Siddiqui (Reuters) - images of COVID's toll in India
- Photography Staff of Reuters - images of climate change around the Globe
- Gabrielle Lurie (San Francisco Chronicle) - images of mother's attempts to care for her homeless drug addict daughter
Audio Reporting
- ★ Staffs of Futuro Media and PRX - "Suave" a profile of a man reentering society after 30 years in Prison
- Eyder Peralta, Solomon Fisseha, Alsanosi Adam, and Halima Athumani (NPR) - stories on war in East Africa
- Mike Hixenbaugh, ANtonia Hylton, Reid Cherlin, Julie Shapiro, and Frannie Kelley (NBC News) - account of anti critical race theory movement in a Texas community.
Public Service
- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - expose of electrical fires in rental properties
- New York Times - challenging official accounts in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan
- ★ Washington Post -assault on Washington on January 6th
Breaking News Reporting
- ★ Staff of Miami Herald (coverage of condo collapse)
- Staff of Los Angeles Times (coverage of fatal shooting on "Rust" film set)
- Staff of New York Times (coverage of attack of Washington)
Investigative Reporting
- Jeffrey Meitrodt and Nicole Norfleet (Star Tribune) -companies purchasing court-approved settlement funds for accident victims
- ★ Corey G Johnson, Rebecca Woolington, Eli Murray (Tampa Bay Times) -toxic hazards in Florida's only battery recycling plant
- Hannah Drier and Andrew Ba Tran (Washington Post) - FEMA's failures to confront structural racism and climate change
Explanatory Reporting
- Staff of Philadelphia Inquirer - roots of gun violence in Philly
- ★ Staff of Quanta Magazine (notably Natalie Wolchover) - building of James Webb space telecope
- Staff of Wall Street Journal - enduring effects of Tulsa Race Massacre
Local Reporting
- ★ Madison Hopkins (Better Government Association) and Cecilia Reyes (Chicago Tribune) - Investigation of history of deaths caused by failed building safety code and fire safety violations in the city
- Tony Cook, Johnny Magdaleno, Michelle Pemberton (Indianapolis Star) - examination of Indiana's "red flag" gun law
- Lulu Ramadan (Palm Beach Post), Ash Ngu, Maya Miller, Nadia Sussman (ProPublica) - investigation of dangerous air pollution during sugar cane harvest season in Florida
National Reporting
- Eli Hager (Marshall Republic) and Joseph Shapiro (NPR) on agencies that pocketed Social Security Benefits for children in Foster Care
- ★ Staff of New York Times -on fatal traffic stops by police
- Staff of Washington Post - persistent environmental racism
International Reporting
- Staff of New York Times -the fall of Afghan goverment and return of Taliban
- Staff of New York Times - the assassination of Haiti's president
- Yaroslav Trofimov and the Staff of the Wall Street Journal - stories from Afghanistan
- ★ Staff of New York Times - challenging official military accounts of engagments in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan
Feature Writing
- Anand Gopal (New Yorker) - account of Afghan women forgotten in the war
- Meribah Knight (WPLN) and Ken Armstrong (ProPublica) - account of Black children in Tennessee arrested for crime that doesn't exist
- ★ Jennifer Senior (The Atlantic) - a family's reckoning with loss in the 20 years since 9/11
Commentary
- Julian Aguon (The Atlantic) - essay exploring Climate Change through indigenous Pacific Island communities
- Zeynep Tufekei (New York Times / Tjee Altantic) - columns on pandemic and American culture
- ★ Melinda Henneberger (Kansas City Star) - columns demanding justice for alleged victims of retired police detective accused of sexual predation
Special Citation
- Journalists of Ukraine
You can watch the nomination announcement here.