A Forever stamp honoring award-winning playwright August Wilson will be dedicated today by the U.S. Postal Service.
The virtual ceremony can be viewed starting at 11:30 a.m. on the postal service’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
“August Wilson was an American trailblazer and literary genius who richly deserves this recognition as the Postal Service’s 44th Black Heritage stamp honoree,” said Joshua Colin, USPS vice president of delivery operations.
Playwright August Wilson Takes Center Stage on U.S. Postal Service Commemorative Forever Stamp ??? #AugustWilsonForever #BlackHeritageStamps https://t.co/Ezj04lKcPa
— U.S. Postal Service (@USPS) January 28, 2021
Wilson, a Hill District native, is best known for “The Pittsburgh Cycle” (or “Century Cycle”), a series of 10 plays that chronicle the Black experience in America over the 20th century, drawing on what he absorbed growing up in Pittsburgh. He died in 2005 at the age of 60.
The only play in the cycle not set in Pittsburgh, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” chronicles a 1927 recording session in Chicago that focuses on the exploitation of Black musicians. The film adaptation of the play was released on Netflix last month. It was shot in and around Pittsburgh and features the final appearance of the late Chadwick Boseman.
The stamp features an oil painting of Wilson based on a photograph from 2005. Behind him, a picket fence alludes to “Fences,” the sixth play in Wilson’s cycle, which Denzel Washington made into a feature film in 2016. The postal service’s art director Ethel Kessler designed this stamp with art by Tim O’Brien.
News of the stamp is being shared via #AugustWilsonForever and #BlackHeritageStamps. As a Forever stamp, it will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce price.
The stamp will be available online or at post offices nationwide. The first day of issuance postmark will be available at the main post office on California Avenue on Pittsburgh’s North Side.
Another option is to send a stamped envelope for cancellation along with a self-addressed stamped envelope within the next 30 days to:
August Wilson-FDOI
USPS-Retail
1001 California Ave., Room 2036
Pittsburgh, PA 15290
