George Houston Bass

George Houston Bass (April 23, 1938 – September 18, 1990)^[1][2] was an American playwright, director and writer. He lived and worked in Providence, Rhode Island. He founded the Rites and Reason Theater at Brown University in September 1970. He was also the literary secretary to and the executor of the literary estate of poet Langston Hughes.^[3] Bass founded the Langston Hughes Society in 1981 and the society's publication, the Langston Hughes Review, in 1982.^[4][5]

George Houston Bass
Born	(1938-04-23)April 23, 1938 Murfreesboro, Tennessee, U.S.
Died	September 18, 1990(1990-09-18) (aged 52) Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
Alma mater	Fisk University
Occupation(s)	Playwright, director and writer

Bass is credited with writing the arrangement of the folk song "Sea Lion Woman" popularized by Nina Simone in 1964.^[6] A 1965 letter from Hughes supports this by referencing "my former secretary's SEA LION WOMAN [Nina] is featuring live on every concert".^[7]

Awards

• Harlem Cultural Council Award, 1969.^[4]

References

1. The Langston Hughes Review: Official Publication of the Langston Hughes Society. Afro-American Studies Program, Brown University. 1991.
2. O'Donnell, Monica M. (1984). Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television. Gale. ISBN 978-0-8103-2064-2.
3. Pina, Alisha A. (April 15, 2016). "A life in the arts". The Providence Journal. Rhode Island. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
4. "George Houston Bass, Theater Professor, 52". The New York Times. September 21, 1990. Retrieved April 1, 2009.
5. Mitchell, Martha. "Bass, George H.". Encyclopedia Brunoniana. Brown University. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
6. "Images for Nina Simone single". Discogs. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
7. Hughes, Langston (2015). Arnold Rampersad; David Roessel; Christa Fratantoro (eds.). Selected Letters of Langston Hughes. Alfred A. Knopf. p. 401. ISBN 978-0375413797.