Author Profile:  Frank Higgins

Frank Higgins, both a playwright and a poet, is the author of two plays for young audiences published by Pioneer Drama Service, Inc.:  Peanutman:  A Visit from George Washington Carver and Anansi the Spider and the Middle Passage.  Other plays by Frank Higgins include The Sweet By 'n' By, Gunplay, Miracles, Lover’s Leap, Never Say Die, and The Taste Test, musical plays Black Pearl Sings and WMKS:  Where Music Kills Sorrow and plays for young audiences, The Slave Dancer’s Choice and The Country of the Blind.  The Sweet By ‘n’ By has been produced around the country, most notably at the Williamstown Theatre Festival with Tony-winner Blythe Danner and her daughter Gwyneth Paltrow.  His play Gunplay, which was commissioned following the mass murders at the University of Iowa in 1991, has been produced around the country as well, including the reading of several scenes on Capital Hill prior to Congress's passage of what became known as the 'Brady Bill.' Never Say Die was a finalist at the Eugene O’Neill New Play Festival.  Higgins has also published several books including a full length collection of poetry titled Starting From Ellis Island and a book of haiku titled Eating Blowfish.