Playwright Suzan-Lori Parks on Self-Worth and Loving the Grind

Helga

Suzan-Lori Parks is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. Parks was the first African American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in Drama with her 2002 play, “Topdog/Underdog,” and in 2023, she was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People.

In this episode, Parks discusses her bold idea to write a one-act play each day for an entire year. She shares her views on storytelling, resilience, and family, and she breaks out her guitar to give a sample of one of her original songs.