Talk:Tennessee Williams

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Contents 1 Gay Bashing 2 Poor Quality 3 Redirect 4 Name 5 Category: ppl diagnosed with clinical depression 6 Template 7 The Fugitive Kind 1937

[edit] Gay Bashing

Is Gay Bashing really a PC way of putting it? I'm from the UK so maybe it is different in the US? 88.109.187.133 22:47, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Poor Quality

I was struck by the poor quality of this page for such an important figure, what is writing like "For two years he could do almost nothing. His mother wasn't going to allow him to waste his time, so she encouraged him to use his imagination a lot. When he was thirteen, his mother gave him a typewriter." doing on Wikipedia? Also, "Genre critics maintain that Williams writes in the Southern Gothic style." seems non-neutral to me.

Agreed, the former sounds very personal; the latter breaks WP:WEASEL. Ah well. - THE GREAT GAVINI {T-C} 20:31, 6 July 2006 (UTC)

Agreed 66.30.220.220 05:08, 16 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Redirect

Adopted redirect for Google: Thomas Lanier Williams

[edit] Name

The name “Tennessee” was a name he adopted from his father's background in Tennessee.
But the BooksFactory bio (external link) says: Williams's Deep South accent and poverty made him a target of his schoolmates and earned him later from his university [of Missouri] classmates the nickname ‘Tennessee’.
Who’s right? Is it even possible to know? Frungi 01:06, 2 November 2005 (UTC)

Even if it is true, there is no point in referencing his father if you don't spell out exactly what is his father's background in Tennessee. Did his father sell in Tennessee? The article doesn't say. Also, I think the section about his critics being homophobes is slightly biased. Knapster2005 14:07, 15 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Category: ppl diagnosed with clinical depression

Michael David and I have been having a discussion on one anothers' talk pages about the rights and wrongs of including Williams in the people diagnosed with clinical depression category. My evidence for including him is as follows:

• Autobiographical evidence: Williams discussed his "decade-long episode of depression" in his own memoirs
• Biographical evidence: ...and it's been in his biographies, too.
• At least one academic paper exists written by clinicians which reviews his psychiatric history, and includes: "we believe that sufficient evidence exists to suggest that Williams probably had major depressive episodes at age 25, 35, 46, and 52 years". The article also acknowledges the problems of attempting such diagnoses.
• Williams is known to have received psychotherapy for his depression.
• ...and to have taken antidepressants.

I believe that this merits his inclusion in the category. Given that we are unlikely to persuade him to nip round with a letter from his doctor, largely because he's dead, I think it's entirely appropriate in a project such as this to categorise people as suffering from conditions where that is supported by historical evidence and their own personal discussions of the topic. Nmg20 01:44, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Template

I'm glad to see that template for all the plays, but right now it's awfully difficult to look at. Even if it's necessary to include every play and screenplay he ever wrote (and I'm not sure it is, since many of these don't even have articles yet), is it possible to subdivide it by, say, full-length plays, screenplays, one acts, etc.? Unless all these are full-length already, in which case, I'll happily shut up... --24.216.66.133 04:14, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] The Fugitive Kind 1937

Tennessee's 1937 play was not called "The Fugitive Kind" that was the name of the movie, starring Marlon Brondo, adapted from the play "Orpheus Descending" it was later re-worked and re-published as "A Battle of Angels." Within the list of plays the title should be "Orpheus Descending"

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TheBigGrayDog