Pearl Cleage

This week on Theatre People we are proud to share a special audio only episode with award-winning playwright, novelist, essayist and Atlanta's first Poet Laureate, Pearl Cleage! Pearl Cleage has made many notable contributions to American theatre including her critically acclaimed plays Flyin' West, Bourbon at the Border, Puppet Play and Blues for an Alabama Sky. The daughter of prominent civil rights leader and preacher Rev. Albert Cleage, Pearl Cleage has a long history of civil rights work in the city of Atlanta and beyond. She also served as a speechwriter for Mayor Maynard Jackson, Atlanta's first Black mayor. Pearl Cleage currently serves as Alliance Theatre's Distinguished Artist in Residence, and was appointed Atlanta's first Poet Laureate in 2021.