Posthumous Recognition
The people of Columbus, Georgia, raised a commemorative headstone for him in 1976. He was the subject of a play titled HUSH: Composing Blind Tom Wiggins, which was performed on the Atlanta stage with Del Hamilton as director.
Between 1970 and 2000, Dr. Geneva Handy Southall wrote a three-volume thesis titled Blind Tom: The Black Pianist Composer; Continuously Enslaved; it was published by Scarecrow Press in 2002.
In 1981 he was the subject of a film, "Blind Tom: The Story of Thomas Bethune" directed by Mark W. Travis.
In 1999 John Davis recorded an album of Tom's original compositions on a CD entitled John Davis Plays Blind Tom. The cd package included essays by Amiri Baraka, Ricky Jay and Oliver Sacks.
A full-length biography, The Ballad of Blind Tom, Slave Pianist, by Deirdre O'Connell, was published by Overlook Press in 2009.
Read more about this topic: Blind Tom Wiggins
Famous quotes containing the words posthumous and/or recognition:
“One must be a living man and a posthumous artist.”
—Jean Cocteau (1889–1963)
“While you are nurturing your newborn, you need someone to nurture you, whether it is with healthful drinks while you’re nursing, or with words of recognition and encouragement as you talk about your feelings. In this state of continual giving to your infant—whether it is nourishment or care or love—you are easily drained, and you need to be replenished from sources outside yourself so that you will have reserves to draw from.”
—Sally Placksin (20th century)