Venus
Playwrights Canada Press · Paperback · April 1, 1997
Suzan-Lori Parks continues her examination of black people in history and stage through the life of the so-called "Hottentot Venus," an African woman displayed semi-nude throughout Europe due to her extraordinary physiognomy; in particular, her enormous buttocks.
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- Who it’s for
- Suzan-Lori Parks turns a historical life into a sharp encounter with spectacle, science, and power.
- Genres
- African American Plays, Historical Drama, American Plays
- Published
- Playwrights Canada Press, April 1, 1997
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Start with this bookAbout this book
Suzan-Lori Parks continues her examination of black people in history and stage through the life of the so-called "Hottentot Venus," an African woman displayed semi-nude throughout Europe due to her extraordinary physiognomy; in particular, her enormous buttocks. She was befriended, bought and bedded by a doctor who advanced his scientific career through his anatomical measurements of her after her premature death.
History on Stage
Suzan-Lori Parks turns a historical life into a sharp encounter with spectacle, science, and power.
Come here for
- A stage-centered examination of Black history and the body
- The uneasy overlap of scientific ambition and human exploitation
Expect
- A drama grounded in the history of the so-called “Hottentot Venus”
- Unflinching attention to the costs of being made an object of study
Where it sits
| African American Plays | 80% |
|---|---|
| Historical Drama | 56% |
| American Plays | 33% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Plays
- African American Studies
- Women's Studies
- Authors
- Suzan-Lori Parks
- Publisher
- Playwrights Canada Press
- Published
- April 1, 1997
- Format
- Paperback
- Reading lane
- Plays