“My influences have been what I call my four Bs - the primary one being...” — August Wilson Quote

“My influences have been what I call my four Bs - the primary one being the blues, then Borges, Baraka, and Bearden.”

“Pittsburgh is a very hard city, especially if you're black.”

“Scripts were rather scarce in 1968. We did a lot of Amiri Baraka's plays, the agitprop stuff he was writing. It was at a time when black student organizations were active on the campuses, so we were invited to the colleges around Pittsburgh and Ohio, and even as far away as Jackson, Mississippi.”

“If it wasn't for blues and gospel, I don't think I would be who I am.”

“My writing ability all stems from the blues.”

“When I think of music, I think of music in its totality, complete. From the lowest blues to the highest symphony, you know, so what I'd like to do is exemplify each style of as many periods as I can possibly do.”