Arthur L. Kopit

Steven Dedalus Burch (University of Alabama)

Ed. by Nick Selby, University of East Anglia
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.4: American (US) Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Christopher Hugh Gair (University of Glasgow), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Kerry Myler (Newman University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Dates

Born 10 May 1937
Activity 1957-ongoing

Places

Born in United States
Active in United States

Activities

Primary

Playwright / Dramatist
Theatre Director

Resources

A prominent American playwright of the second part of the 20^th century, of keen intelligence and theatrical energy and power, Arthur L. Kopit was born May 10, 1937 in New York City. He grew up in Lawrence, Nassau County, New York on Long Island, the son of a jeweler. He began his playwriting career early as an undergraduate at Harvard University in 1957 with the production of The Questioning of Nick. It was at Harvard that Kopit found his voice with his most famous play, Oh, Dad, Poor Dad, Mama’s Hung You in the Closet and I’m Feelin’ So Sad, and for the next two decades his two most important works, Indians and Wings.

Kopit’s first play, a serious realistic one-act drama which won a…

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2871 words

Citation: Burch, Steven Dedalus. "Arthur L. Kopit". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 27 April 2011 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2557, accessed 16 April 2024.]

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