Bullins, Ed (1935– )

US writer and playwright who was a leader of the 1960s ‘black arts’ movement. He wrote his first play, Clara's Ole Man, in 1965. Although not publishing much after the 1980s, he worked on a 20-play historical cycle about black Americans.

He was born in Philadelphia. He cofounded Black Arts West in San Francisco. He began writing fiction but turned to the theatre to reach a wider public. He won three Obie Awards in the 1970s and was associated with several theatres in New York City, including the New Lafayette Theatre, American Place Theatre, and the Surviving Theatre. He taught at, among other institutions, City College of San Francisco in 1984.