Saïd Sayrafiezadeh
Encyclopedia
Saïd Sayrafiezadeh is an American
playwright
and author
living in New York City
. He won a 2010 Whiting Writers' Award
.
, New York, to an Iranian Muslim
father and a Jewish mother. He was raised in Pittsburgh
, Pennsylvania. He is the nephew of the novelist Mark Harris
.
, New York Theatre Workshop
, The Humana Festival of New American Plays
, The Lark Theatre, and at The Sundance Institute
.
His fiction includes "When Skateboards Will Be Free," first published in the literary journal Granta
91: Wish You Were Here and "Most Livable City," published in The Paris Review.
"Appetite", and "Paranois", were published in The New Yorker.
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
living in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He won a 2010 Whiting Writers' Award
Whiting Writers' Award
The Whiting Writers' Award is an American award presented annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and plays. The award is sponsored by the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation and has been presented since 1985. As of 2007, winners receive US $50,000.-External links:**...
.
Background
Sayrafiezadeh was born in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York, to an Iranian Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
father and a Jewish mother. He was raised in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, Pennsylvania. He is the nephew of the novelist Mark Harris
Mark Harris (author)
Mark Harris was an American novelist, literary biographer, and educator.-Early life:Harris was born Mark Harris Finklestein in Mount Vernon, New York to Carlyle and Ruth Klausner Finkelstein...
.
Plays
Sayrafiezadeh's plays include New York is Bleeding, Autobiography of a Terrorist, The World Might Be Uninhabited, All Fall Away, and Long Dream in Summer. They have been produced or read at South Coast RepertorySouth Coast Repertory
South Coast Repertory is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California.Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson and now under the leadership of Artistic Director Marc Masterson and Managing Director Paula Tomei, is widely...
, New York Theatre Workshop
New York Theatre Workshop
__notoc__New York Theatre Workshop is an Off-Broadway theatre noted for its productions of new works. Located at 79 East 4th Street between Second Avenue and the Bowery in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, it houses a 198-seat theatre for its mainstage productions, and a...
, The Humana Festival of New American Plays
Humana Festival of New American Plays
Humana Festival of New American Plays is an internationally renowned festival that celebrates the contemporary American playwright. Produced annually in Louisville, Kentucky by Actors Theatre of Louisville, this prestigious event showcases new theatrical works and draws producers, critics,...
, The Lark Theatre, and at The Sundance Institute
Sundance Institute
Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981 that actively advances the work of filmmakers and storytellers worldwide...
.
Writings
Sayrafiezadeh's observations of life in New York and personal essays have been contributed to the online literary site Mr. Beller's Neighborhood.His fiction includes "When Skateboards Will Be Free," first published in the literary journal Granta
Granta
Granta is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centers on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make real." In 2007, The Observer stated, "In its blend of...
91: Wish You Were Here and "Most Livable City," published in The Paris Review.
"Appetite", and "Paranois", were published in The New Yorker.
Memoir
Sayrafiezadeh wrote the memoir When Skateboards Will Be Free: A Memoir of a Political Childhood (2009) about his childhood in the Socialist Workers Party USASocialist Workers Party (United States)
The Socialist Workers Party is a far-left political organization in the United States. The group places a priority on "solidarity work" to aid strikes and is strongly supportive of Cuba...
.