The artistic influence of an IHOP: Today So Far

Artists generally soak up their environment, whatever it may be, and evolve that input into a new level of experience. That's what makes them artists. I've passed by the Olympia house where Kurt Cobain once lived; legend says the house has a lot to do with "Smells Like Teen Spirit." A while ago, I walked by Seattle's Black Dog Forge where Pearl Jam and Soundgarden crafted their sounds. I've toured Dublin to see houses and the many pubs of great Irish writers (tip: whatever Dublin pub you're in, James Joyce drank there. He was in all of them, I guess). And I've sought out the original location of The Star Club in Hamburg's red light district to see where the Beatles, and Jimi Hendrix, took the stage before they became worldwide sensations.

Though, I would never have guessed that one of America's most talented playwrights spent hours soaking up the ambiance of an IHOP. But that's what August Wilson did, right here in Seattle.

"He is the most celebrated Black American playwright, period, of all time," UW Professor Charles Johnson told KUOW.