DuBose Heyward (August 31, 1885 – June 16, 1940) was an American author best known for his 1924 novel Porgy, which was the basis for the play by the same name and opera Porgy and Bess with music by George Gershwin. With his wife Dorothy, whom he met at the MacDowell Colony in 1922, he was co-author of the non-musical play adapted from the novel. His play was the foundation of George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess.
A descendant of Thomas Heyward,...
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DuBose Heyward (August 31, 1885 – June 16, 1940) was an American author best known for his 1924 novel Porgy, which was the basis for the play by the same name and opera Porgy and Bess with music by George Gershwin. With his wife Dorothy, whom he met at the MacDowell Colony in 1922, he was co-author of the non-musical play adapted from the novel. His play was the foundation of George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess.
A descendant of Thomas Heyward, Jr., who was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of South Carolina, Heyward became a Charleston insurance and real-estate salesman. He had a long-standing and serious interest in literature. After achieving financially independence, he abandoned business to devote full time to writing.
The poet and playwright Langston Hughes said Heyward was one who saw "with his white eyes, wonderful, poetic qualities in the inhabitants of Catfish Row that makes them come alive." Biographer James M. Hutchisson...
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