English Language and Literature Commons^™

Looking Outside The Canon: Owen Vincent Dodson'sboy At The Window, Sarah Anne Campbell

Theses and Dissertations

Scholars have viewed African American texts written in the years between 1950 and 1960 as espousing confrontation, protest, and resistance. Although fruitful in identifying large writing trends, much of that scholarship narrowly defines what writing during that time accomplished, leaving out important writers whose writing does not fit the mold. One such writer is Owen Vincent Dodson (1914-1983), who published Boy at the Window in 1951. The novel uses modes of drama including song and call-and-response to invite reader sympathy and identification with characters, and eventually provides reader the opportunity to participate in creating meaning. Dodson's novel subtly combats racism …