Who is Tennessee Williams?
Biography of Tennessee Williams (1911-1983) Playwright, poet, and fiction writer, Tennessee Williams left a powerful mark on American theatre. At their best, his twenty-five full-length plays combined lyrical intensity, haunting loneliness, and hypnotic violence. He is widely considered the greatest Southern playwright and one of the greatest playwrights in the history of American drama. Tennessee Williams was born March 26, 1911, as Thomas Lanier Williams, in the rectory of his grandfather’s Episcopal church in Comumbus, Mississippi. Both of his parents – Edwina Dakins and Cornelius Coffin Williams – came from proud American lineages. Because Cornelius traveled for the phone company, young Tom, his mother, and his sister Rose (two years his senior) lived with Edwina’s parents in a warm, genteel environment rich in status (“the minister’s family”) if not wealth. Tom’s childhood case of diphtheria led to eye and kidney problems, delicate treatment as a child, and life-long hypochondria.
Tennessee Williams is one of the most prominent and celebrated American playwrights of the 20th century. His work is characterized by tragic heroines and the exploration of the darker elements of the American South. Williams also wrote in other genres, including the short story, the novel, and poetry. His autobiography, Memoirs, was published in 1975. Williams was born Thomas Lanier Williams III on 26 March 1911 in Columbus, Mississippi, the son of a traveling shoe salesman and a former southern belle. His family life as a child was very difficult. The family moved to Clarksdale, Mississippi in 1914 and to St. Louis, Missouri in 1918. Tennessee was incapacitated by diphtheria for two years beginning at the age of seven. Williams was the middle child of three, and his older sister, Rose, suffered from schizophrenia. William’s parents often fought violently, and his abusive father favored his younger brother, Dakin. Williams began writing at a young age and published his first story, “Th
