Playwright August Wilson praised Romare Bearden for his celebration of "black life presented on its own terms, on a grand and epic scale, with all its richness and fullness, in a language that was vibrant and which, made attendant to everyday life, ennobled it, affirmed its value, and exalted its presence." Creative writers—including Elizabeth Alexander, John Edgar Wideman, Russell Goings and Stanley Crouch—speak about what Bearden's life and art has meant to them.