Owen Dodson (1914–1983)

Beautiful and haunting book by the renowned Van Der Zee. Funeral rites and photographs from Harlem during the first half of the twentieth century. The Harlem Book of the Dead with its photographs poems and text are more than representational reflections of mourning rites. They reveal the history of a time in Harlem now past when society cared for both the living and the dead in the belief that we must preserve a standard of pride representing order high in spiritual and temporal values. show more There is a purging of sorrow in the very pageantry of funerals. Carelessness about death might reflect carelessness about life. The examples of ritual as presented in this volume are as universal as death - and there are Harlem's everywhere. show less

Searching through publications of books in 1951 I came across [Boy at the Window] by Owen Dodson. he was an American poet, novelist and playwright. He was one of the leading African-American poets of his time, associated with the generation of black poets following the Harlem Resistance. James V Hatch has explained that Dodson 'is the product of two parallel forces - the Black experience in America with its folk and urban routes, and a classical humanist education. He had two novels show more published two collections of poetry and several one act plays. If LibraryThing's information is to be believed then he is widely forgotten now, with only 6 people having this, his first novel in their library.

When Trees were Green renamed in paperback [Boy in the Window] is thought to be largely biographical. Dodson was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and we first meet Coin the hero of his book as a nine year old boy coming to terms with a world that is full of smells and colours. He is an imaginative boy growing up in a poor black family in a mixed neighbourhood. His families social life is based around the Baptist church, his father is a deacon. Coin is not at all streetwise trying to find out for himself how he should live his life. Over half of the novel is his close relationship with his mother whose health is failing due to a series of strokes. He does not realise that she is dying and thinks only about her getting well. His mother Naomi has had nine children five of which have survived and live at home; Coin is the youngest.

We look at the world through the eyes of Coin and feel his struggle in making sense of his existence. He spills ink on his clothes at school and rushes home in a panic knocking over a boy of his own age in his haste. The mother of the boys shouts 'nigger' after him and Coin tries to find out what that means, he comes to the conclusion it must mean a bad person. Mrs Quick comes every few days to help his mother; rubbing oils into her skin to try and ease her paralysis she persuades Naomi that she should visit a faith healer. Meanwhile Coin steps up when called in church to become one of the faithful, his only thought is to pray for his mother. When Naomi dies her husband although he is poor insists on a large funeral. Coin is devastated by all the people congregated in his house and his emotions are torn between the rising up of spirits engendered by the preaching community and his own feelings of not being part of it. After his mothers death the oldest daughter Agnes must take on the role of bringing up the kids and she is relieved when uncle Starr turns up to to offer Coin a place to live. Uncle Starr is blind and Coin will be useful to him. Coin travels on a bus when a white man shouts at the 'darkies' at the back to shut up. Coin is amazed to see one of the women march up to the man to confront him. Whilst staying with uncle Starr he meets Ferris a boy a year older than him and falls in love.

We leave Coin at this point, still with much to learn and still not knowing how to make his way in the world. Owen Dodson writes well and convincingly about a young poor black boy's early experiences. Coin is sensitive and his sense of the world through colours, smells and imagery adds to his portrayal of a youth searching for a way forward. How to grow up, how to cope with the sensitive part of his nature. Dodson nuanced depiction of family life amongst a baptist family and then Coins escape from an overburdened older sister into a different sort of life with Uncle Starr is lively and intense. Dodson wrote a second novel in 1967 called [Come Home early Child] which is said also to be autobiographical and I am tempted with his first poetry collection Powerful Long Ladder 4 stars. show less

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