August Wilson was not nearly as prolific. He broke through with “Jitney” in 1982 when he was 37, and followed with a staggering burst of creativity. “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Fences,” “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” and “The Piano Lesson” all tumbled out of his typewriter over the next five years.

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August Wilson was not nearly as prolific. He broke through with “Jitney” in 1982 when he was 37, and followed with a staggering burst of creativity. “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Fences,” “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” and “The Piano Lesson” all tumbled out of his typewriter over the next five years.