This is the story, in the form of a play in two acts, of the life of playwright August Wilson (born Frederick August Kittel Jr.) who lived from 1945 to 2005. August struggled with racism in school in Pittsburgh so brutal and dispiriting for him that in spite of his love of learning he dropped out of high school and instead educated himself at the public library. He went to to win numerous awards including two Pulitzer Prizes.

August started out as a poet, but when a friend suggested they start a theater company, he replied, “Sure, why not?!” At first August was the director, but then began turning his poems into plays. Eventually he came up with the goal of writing one play for each decade of the twentieth century, “a map of the black experience in America,” as the author writes.

An Author’s Note explains more about August’s creative process, how he “mined the raw materials of his own life to fuel his creative fire.” She recounts that as she worked on his biography, she kept a quote by August Wilson above her desk: “I just write stuff down and pile it up, and when I get enough stuff, I spread it out and look at it and figure out how to use it.” She reports trying to emulate his technique in making this story. She concludes:

“I hope the readers of this book will appreciate the richness of their own lives and neighborhoods and have the courage to listen to the voices they find there - and perhaps like Freddy/August be inspired to write about them.”

The book concludes with a detailed time line, selected biography, and list of plays.

Cannaday Chapman uses muted multimedia illustrations to help tell the story. ( )

This is the picture book biography of playwright, August Wilson. Each poetic chapter has its own original music score and sound effects. Sometimes, an accompanying copy of the picture book is needed to thoroughly enjoy a story. This time, the words are enough (though I'm sure that the illustrations are wonderful. I've never seen or read an August Wilson play. Now I want to.

My complete review and an audio sample are available at [https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/184964/feed-your-mind-by-jen-bryant-read-by-david-sadzin/].

Note: This review is for the audiobook version of Feed Your Mind. My copy was provided by AudioFile Magazine. ( )