Life Lit by Some Large Vision
Selected Speeches and Writings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Star actor of stage, film, and television, civil rights activist, screenwriter, and director, Ossie Davis was among the most beloved and respected men in Hollywood and American society as a whole, whose brilliant oratory style was among his most inspiring and celebrated gifts—and all of his written essays, tributes, letters, and more have been collected for this book.
This book represents the best of the scores of speeches and talks, written and delivered by the great Ossie Davis. While the sound of his voice will be missed in the reading, his unique gift for expressing himself, articulating his thoughts and his visions are present on every page of this moving collection.
Davis had intended to assemble these disparate pieces long before his passing in the spring of 2005. His wife and his family have followed-up and delivered to us the text of his speeches, essays, tributes and eulogies, letters, and the brilliant monologue that was "The Benediction" from his groundbreaking play, first produced in 1961, "Purlie Victorious."
In the end, this is a book that will resonate from Hollywood to the heartlands across the country as a document of one man's wisdom and generosity, and a legacy that enriches all of us.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Actor, playwright and civil rights activist Davis passed away in 2005, but this posthumous collection of his writing-including his speeches, essays, eulogies and letters-is a reminder that his legendary voice remains vital. Whether writing about the power of the theatre or the power of the people, Davis was gifted with an ability for remarkable, courageous speech: Calling for a new Constitution in 1968, he said, "Let us sit down and negotiate a peace treaty among ourselves." Davis did not shy away from controversy, be it in defense of the rights of known Communists, or in re-examining the history of African-Americans; writing in 1965, Davis states that "most of the stereotypes we know about Negroes were invented by Negroes for the purposes of survival and social correction." The writer's humor, humility and tremendous inspirational power shine, but suffer from a lack on context. Davis' wife of more than 50 years, the equally renowned actress and activist Ruby Dee, provides commentary at the beginning of most selections, but her notes are often too vague to illuminate Davis' writings properly. Not much elucidation is needed for Davis' eulogy for Malcolm X, perhaps, but subsequent eulogies for less-known figures like actors Godfrey Cambridge and John Randolph could use a biographical sketch. Quibbles aside, this is a great read by a luminous, much-missed American treasure.
