The playwright's muse / edited by Joan Herrington.

This is a wonderful collection of interviews with 11 Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatists, among them Edward Albee, Tony Kushner, Jonathan Larson, Neil Simon, August Wilson, Horton Foote, and Wendy Wasserstein. As the title suggests, the linking theme is the question of what inspires the dramatist to write, and the interviewers ask pertinent questions about both the playwright and the plays. A separate essay by a scholar or theater artist precedes most of the interviews and serves as a good source of introductory material about the dramatist. One exception is the chapter on Margaret Edson, the author of Wit. Here, comments by the interviewer are interspersed with the interview itself, a technique that works quite well as the playwright's and the interviewer's comments often highlight each other. Edson stands out in this collection for two reasons: she is a one-play wonder, and she has no intention of leaving her job teaching kindergarten in the Atlanta school system. Perhaps because she does not consider herself a professional playwright, as do the other ten writers, hers is one of the most interesting chapters. Recommended for all academic libraries and libraries with significant theater collections. Susan L. Peters, Univ. of Texas, Galveston (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.