Ntozake Shange

Ntozake Shange (pronounced En-toe-ZAK-kay SHONG-gay) is an African American playwright, performance artist, and writer who is best-known for her Obie Award winning play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/when the rainbow is enuf. Among her honors and awards are fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund, and a Pushcart Prize. Shange lives in Philadelphia.

Shange's Education, Suicide Attempt, and Name Change

When Shange turned thirteen, she returned to New Jersey, where she completed high school. In 1966 Shange enrolled at Barnard College. She graduated cum laude in American Studies, then earned a master's degree in the same field from the University of Southern California at Los Angeles.

Related Topics:
New Jersey - Barnard College - American Studies - University of Southern California - Los Angeles

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However, Shange's college years were not all pleasant. She married during her first year in college, but the marriage did not last long. Depressed over her separation--combined with a strong sense of bitterness and alienation--Shange attempted suicide. Among the attempts she admits doing include drinking chemicals, slashing her wrist, overdosing on Valium, and driving her car into the Pacific.

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In 1971, having come to terms to her depression and alienation, Shange changed her name to Ntozake Shange which means "she who comes with her own things" and "she who walks like a lion" in Xhosa, one of the languages of Southern Africa.

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