Books like Twilight--Los Angeles, 1992 on the road by Anna Deavere Smith

Anna Deavere Smith’s play "Twilight" compiles the oral testimonies of more than two hundred people who lived through the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Drawing from nine months of interviews, the work presents a mosaic of perspectives—from a disabled Korean immigrant and a Hollywood talent agent to a teenage black gang member, a Mexican‑American artist, Rodney King’s aunt, and former police chief Daryl Gates—capturing the city’s diversity and the tensions that flared after the Rodney King verdict. Smith’s script, accompanied by an introductory essay on the play’s development and photographs of her in character, offers an unflinching look at how race, class, and politics shaped the tragedy. "Twilight" stands as a stark and compelling first‑person portrait of a pivotal moment in contemporary history, inviting audiences to engage directly with the human stories behind the riots and the broader social conditions that fueled them.

First publish date: 1994