Romulus Linney (playwright)
Encyclopedia
Romulus Zachariah Linney IV (September 21, 1930 – January 15, 2011) was an American playwright and professor.
Thompson) and Romulus Zachariah Linney III. His great-grandfather was Republican Congressman Romulus Zachariah Linney
. Linney was raised in Boone, North Carolina
and Madison, Tennessee
. He was the author of three novels, thirteen plays and twenty-two short plays that have been produced in the United States
, Europe
and Asia. Thomas M. Disch
described his novel Jesus Tales as "a delight."
He earned a BA
from Oberlin College
and an MFA
from the Yale School of Drama
. Linney received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts
as well as Guggenheim
, Rockefeller, National Endowment for the Arts and New York Foundation for the Arts
grants, an Obie award
, a Yukio Mishima Prize
for Fiction, and the Award for Literature, Award of Merit and Gold Medal for Drama from the American Academy and Institute for Arts and Letters. He received an honorary doctorates from Oberlin in 1994, from Appalachian State University
in 1995, and from Wake Forest University
in 1998. He was a member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre
, the Fellowship of Southern Writers
, National Theatre Conference, College of Fellows of the American Theatre
, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Corporation of Yaddo
.
Linney had been chair of the MFA Playwriting program at Columbia University
’s School of the Arts and Professor of Playwriting in the Actors Studio MFA. Program at The New School
in New York. An interview with Linney (both the original audio and a transcript) appears in Blackbird In February 2012, a performance space in the Signature Theater Company's new Frank Gehry
-designed building on Manhattan's West 42nd Street, a group he had been associated with since its first season in 1991, will be named in Linney's honor.
. An interview with Laura Linney can be found at Bombsite.
Life and career
Linney was born in Philadelphia, the son of Maitland Clabaugh (néeMarried and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Thompson) and Romulus Zachariah Linney III. His great-grandfather was Republican Congressman Romulus Zachariah Linney
Romulus Zachariah Linney
Romulus Zachariah Linney was a Republican U.S. Congressman from North Carolina between 1895 and 1901.Linney was born in Rutherford County, North Carolina, the son of Martha and William Coplin Linney. He attended common schools, York's Collegiate Institute, and Doctor Millen's School in...
. Linney was raised in Boone, North Carolina
Boone, North Carolina
Boone is a town located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, United States. Boone's population was reported as 17,122, as of 2010...
and Madison, Tennessee
Madison, Tennessee
Madison, Tennessee is a neighborhood in northeast Nashville, Tennessee in the United States. It is incorporated as part of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County....
. He was the author of three novels, thirteen plays and twenty-two short plays that have been produced in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Asia. Thomas M. Disch
Thomas M. Disch
Thomas Michael Disch was an American science fiction author and poet. He won the Hugo Award for Best Related Book – previously called "Best Non-Fiction Book" – in 1999, and he had two other Hugo nominations and nine Nebula Award nominations to his credit, plus one win of the John W...
described his novel Jesus Tales as "a delight."
He earned a BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
and an MFA
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
from the Yale School of Drama
Yale School of Drama
The Yale School of Drama is a graduate professional school of Yale University providing training in every discipline of the theatre: acting, design , directing, dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, playwriting, stage management, sound design, technical design and production, and theater...
. Linney received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
as well as Guggenheim
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
, Rockefeller, National Endowment for the Arts and New York Foundation for the Arts
New York Foundation for the Arts
The New York Foundation for the Arts was created in conjunction the in 1971. The organization gives grants to individual artists and writers and developing arts organizations with a mission to '.'-NYFA's Programs:...
grants, an Obie award
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
, a Yukio Mishima Prize
Yukio Mishima Prize
The is a Japanese literary award presented annually. It was established in 1988 in memory of author Yukio Mishima.- Winners :* 1 1988 Genichiro Takahashi for 優雅で感傷的な日本野球 Yūga de Kanshōtekina Nippon Yakyū* 4 1999 Kazumi Saeki for ア・ルース・ボーイ...
for Fiction, and the Award for Literature, Award of Merit and Gold Medal for Drama from the American Academy and Institute for Arts and Letters. He received an honorary doctorates from Oberlin in 1994, from Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University is a comprehensive , public, coeducational university located in Boone, North Carolina, United States. Appalachian State, also referred to as Appalachian, App State, or simply App, is the sixth largest institution in the University of North Carolina system...
in 1995, and from Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational university in the U.S. state of North Carolina, founded in 1834. The university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital. The Reynolda Campus, the university's main campus, is...
in 1998. He was a member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre
Ensemble Studio Theatre
The Ensemble Studio Theatre is a membership-based, developmental theatre located in New York City. It has a dual mission of nurturing individual theatre artists and developing new American plays.-Overview:...
, the Fellowship of Southern Writers
Fellowship of Southern Writers
The Fellowship of Southern Writers is a literary organization founded in 1987 in Chattanooga, Tennessee by 21 Southern writers and other literary luminaries...
, National Theatre Conference, College of Fellows of the American Theatre
College of Fellows of the American Theatre
- Origin :The College of Fellows of the American Theatre is an honorary society of outstanding theatre educators and professional theatre practitioners. The organization was formed in 1965 as a project proposed by members of the American Theatre Association...
, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Corporation of Yaddo
Yaddo
Yaddo is an artists' community located on a 400 acre estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment."...
.
Linney had been chair of the MFA Playwriting program at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
’s School of the Arts and Professor of Playwriting in the Actors Studio MFA. Program at The New School
The New School
The New School is a university in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 by progressive New York academics, and for most of its history, the university was known as the New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University...
in New York. An interview with Linney (both the original audio and a transcript) appears in Blackbird In February 2012, a performance space in the Signature Theater Company's new Frank Gehry
Frank Gehry
Frank Owen Gehry, is a Canadian American Pritzker Prize-winning architect based in Los Angeles, California.His buildings, including his private residence, have become tourist attractions...
-designed building on Manhattan's West 42nd Street, a group he had been associated with since its first season in 1991, will be named in Linney's honor.
Family
He was the father of actress Laura LinneyLaura Linney
Laura Leggett Linney is an American actress of film, television, and theatre. Linney has won three Emmy Awards, two Golden Globes, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She has been nominated for three times for an Academy Award and once for a BAFTA Award...
. An interview with Laura Linney can be found at Bombsite.
Works
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A Lesson Before Dying A Lesson Before Dying is Ernest J. Gaines' eighth novel, published in 1993.-Point of view:The reader is given a unique outlook on the status of African Americans in the South, after World War II and before the Civil Rights Movement... |
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