TRUTH IN THE PLEASANT

DISGUISE OF ILLUSION
Tennessee Williams and The Glass Menagerie
 Biographical Information
• Thomas Lanier Williams III, born in
Columbus, Mississippi in March 26, 1911.
• At some point in 1938 or 1939, the young author—
who’d previously been content to write under his
given name—started calling himself “Tennessee.”
Nobody knows why he chose this particular alias.
• At age sixteen was awarded third place in a
contest hosted by Smart Set literary
magazine for an essay entitled, “Can a Wife
Be a Good Sport
• In 1937 Williams completed an English
degree at the University of Iowa.
• Moved to New Orleans, LA at age 28 where
he changed his name to Tennessee and
came out as a gay man.
• Awarded his first Pulitzer Prize for Streetcar
Named Desire in 1948.
• Awarded a Tony award for his play, The
Rose Tattoo, in 1951.
• Awarded second Pulitzer Prize for Cat on a
Hot Tin Roof in 1955.
• Received the Presidential Medal of
Freedom by President Jimmy Carter.
• Died on February 25, 1983 at age 71 in
New York City.
• This photograph is of
Williams’ childhood home
in Columbus, MS. Williams
moved with his family to St.
Louis, MI during his early
teenage years where he
spent the majority of his
young adult life.
 Williams’s Significant works
• The Glass Menagerie
(1944)
• Cat on a Hot Tin
Roof (1955)
• Streetcar Named
Desire (1947)
• Night of the Iguana
(1961)
• The Rose Tattoo
(1951)