David Alan Mamet (born November 30, 1947) is an
American
author,
essayist,
playwright,
screenwriter, and
film director. His works are known for their clever, terse, sometimes vulgar
dialogue and arcane stylized phrasing, as well as for their exploration of
masculinity. Mamet received
Tony Award nominations for
Glengarry Glen Ross (1984) and
Speed-the-Plow (1988), as well as the
Pulitzer Prize for Glengarry Glen Ross. As a screenwriter, he received
Oscar nominations for
The Verdict (1982) and
Wag the Dog (1997).
Mamet's recent books include
The Old Religion (1997), a novel about the
lynching of
Leo Frank;
Five Cities of Refuge: Weekly Reflections on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy (2004), a
Torah commentary, with Rabbi
Lawrence Kushner;
The Wicked Son (2006), a study of
Jewish self-hatred and
antisemitism; and
Bambi vs. Godzilla, a commentary on the movie business. His newest play
Race, starring
James Spader,
David Alan Grier,
Kerry Washington, and
Richard Thomas, is currently slated to open on
Broadway on December 6, 2009.
