Beth Henley Quotes

A collection of quotes by Beth Henley.

Beth Henley is an American playwright and screenwriter born on May 8, 1952, in Jackson, Mississippi. She is best known for her play, "Crimes of the Heart," which earned her the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1981. Henley was raised in the South, which often serves as the backdrop for her works.

Henley attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, where she studied theater. After completing her education, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in writing. In the late 1970s, she gained recognition for her play "Am I Blue," which explored themes of alienation and emotional pain.

However, it was "Crimes of the Heart" that catapulted Henley into the spotlight. The play, which debuted in 1978, revolves around the struggles and relationships of three eccentric sisters in Mississippi. Its success on stage led to a film adaptation in 1986, for which Henley wrote the screenplay. The movie received multiple Academy Award nominations, including Best Adapted Screenplay for Henley.

Throughout her career, Henley has continued to create compelling works for stage and screen, including "The Wake of Jamey Foster" and "The Miss Firecracker Contest." Her plays often explore complex family dynamics and the lives of unconventional and flawed characters. Henley's unique storytelling style blends humor with poignant social commentary, making her an influential voice in contemporary American theater.

The impetus behind going to graduate school was a year after

The impetus behind going to graduate school was a year after graduating from college spent in Dallas working at the dog food factory and Bank America and not having met success in my chosen field, which at that point was being an actress.

Beth Henley

Food

Some really good things kind of swing both ways and I like t

Some really good things kind of swing both ways and I like to see people that can swing really, really, really sad and horrible and terrible and really, really, really beautiful and funny.

Beth Henley

Sad

The next thing I wrote was in a writing class at night schoo

The next thing I wrote was in a writing class at night school. It was about a poor woman who worked at a dime store and who was all alone for Christmas in Laurel, Mississippi.

Beth Henley

Alone

What I loved about the acting class was that you got to thin

What I loved about the acting class was that you got to think all day long about a person that wasn't you, and figure out why they were sad and what they wanted, what they dreamed.

Beth Henley

Sad