Talk:Aishah Rahman

Jan 2015 changes
Hi, Rubesy, and welcome to Wikipedia! I thought your update to this article was great. You can see it exactly as you left it by following this link. I temporarily undid your edit, though, because there wasn't a cited source for Ms. Rahman's passing.

Wikipedia cares a lot about having material be supported by inline citations of reliable sources. This is especially true for articles about living or recently deceased people. If Ms. Rahman is actually still alive, she'd probably be very upset to see that Wikipedia doesn't think so.

I'd be happy to help you improve this article. Wikipedia's WP:Citation templates may be useful to you, and you can also look at WP:Referencing for beginners or visit the WP:Teahouse where many experienced editors are waiting to answer all your questions. You can also leave messages on this talk page, so that other editors working on this article can see our discussion. If you do so, leave four tildes at the end ( ~ ) to auto-sign your name. Again, welcome, and thanks for helping! FourViolas (talk) 22:08, 13 January 2015 (UTC)


 * copy-pasted from my talk page —FourViolas (talk) 21:15, 14 January 2015 (UTC)

Hi I am Aishah's daughter and I wanted to update her page as she passed on Dec. 29th 2014. The on-line NY Times obit is coming out tomorrow. Can I add the source then?

Rubesy (talk) 22:13, 13 January 2015 (UTC)


 * I'm so sorry for your loss. Your mother seems to have been a wonderful person.
 * Yes, the NYT is an excellent source. You can use the news-citing template surrounded by " " to place it in the article after the information it substantiates. The obituary will probably be a good source for other information, such as her awards and biography, and the following sources are also reliable enough: the Times review of "Chewed Water", her entry in the Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature, and this snippet from the Gettysburg College News.
 * One last note: WP users can be mistrustful of, or even unkind to, editors who have a direct personal interest in a topic they edit. We don't want Wikipedia to sound like advertising. However, if you keep close to what the sources say and avoid promotional language (as you have been—good job!), you shouldn't have any problems.
 * Please let me know if I can help with anything else. I might take a look at the article later and tweak it a little. Again, I extend my sympathies to you and your family. FourViolas (talk) 23:09, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

Hello, here are some ideas to add to the page: oIntro/Need To Know: oBirthdate/Death and location oCareer/Claim to Fame •Here it says playwright only. However, this is not the only profession she had (professor at Brown!). While this is mentioned later in the entry, it would be beneficial to have it all here, since most people only read the first paragraph of a Wikipedia page.

oLife and Career oGrew Up in Harlem as a Foster Child •It is mentioned here briefly, but this was super important to Rahman’s story (she even wrote a book about it ), speaks candidly about it in various interviews, and has mentioned that it greatly shaped her as an artist. It might be better to mention this a little more strongly/with more weight.

oProfessor at Brown University •This is out of order. •Also mentioned in passing, but Brown University attributes much to Rahman. She taught there and wrote there and I think that’s important to mention. •Link to Brown’s page on her.

oGraduate from College •Major?

oAdd some information about her family (daughter is a recognized documentary filmmaker! Here, might be able to link to other Wikipedia pages.

oBlack Arts Movements •Mention her views on that, what she stood for and how she participated in the movement.

oJazz aesthetic •What does that mean? It is mentioned in passing. This could even really be its own section, at least its own paragraph. Include quotes from her interview.

oPlays she Wrote •Include years, possibly link to their Wikipedia Pages. •How were these plays received? What are they about? •Where were they preformed? Who performed them? Include links to other Wikipedia Pages.

oAwards •Mentioned here as a list, but this might be better presented along with the next section, as a table or together as a list, for what awards were won for what plays/publications.

oChewed Water: A Memoir •This could be mentioned earlier, in the initial paragraph about her childhood. •How was this book received? Any awards? Criticism? Reviews?

oPublication/plays oLists plays only, and says who published them oNeed to include Chewed Water. Also, she was an editor on a few publications for Brown, which should be mentioned here as well. As I mentioned earlier, it might also be best to list Awards here as well.

oReferences o Only 1 Reference listed oInclude the references I added. Don’t link to plays or other reading material here.

oExternal Links oLists a few other sources here, such as her obituary and a catalog to read her plays. oInclude links to Chewed Water, since that is her memoir. Also link to Brown’s page, and any other things that would be really helpful as an overview of her, but not intended to dive into a certain aspect of her life/certain topic.

oOther Things to Add: oAdd a sidebar, maybe a picture of her and the major things about her (birth/death, career, major works, family, etc).

Mpenn24 (talk) 06:00, 12 October 2016 (UTC)