(1911 – 1988) Powerful playwright whose works explored and exploded myths of the South. His highly personal and poetic dramas are imbued with sensuality guilt, decay illusion and the power of love. Works such as The Glass Menagerie (1945), the Pulitzer Prizewinning A Streetcar named Desire (1947) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (l954) have become staples of global as well as American theater (see Almodovar’s All About My Mother, 1999). These, and other plays, have also been made into powerful movie and television presentations, bringing Williams’ images and speeches into a wider public realm of referēce. Williams’ life and work have also been influential in defining gay expression in contemporary America.