The Need for Cross-Ethnic Studies: A Manifesto (With Antipasto)

Abstract

1 Why has Willard become a forgotten man of American literature? His first novel, Knock on Any Door, appeared in 1947. A Chicago novel in naturalistic tradition of Dreiser, Farrell, and Wright, Knock on Any Door tells story of Nick Romano, altar boy at twelve...dead in electric chair at twenty-one.[1] I It was an instant success. According to Robert E. Fleming, in only book-length study of to date, Two weeks after publication, Knock on Any Door sold forty-seven thousand copies; after two years, Appleton-Century reported three hundred fifty thousand copies in print 61). In 1949, Knock on Any Door was made into a film staring Humphrey Bogart and John Derek. By time of its seventeenth paperback printing, novel could boast sales of 1,500,000 books. Motley's second novel, We Fished All Night, published in 1951, did not fare nearly so well. The critical consensus was that had spread himself too thin (Fleming, Motley 118). We Fished All Night is indeed a sprawling, panoramic novel, not unlike Dos Passos's U.S.A in its attempt to explore all aspects of life in a post-war America. By concentrating on three characters rather than a single protagonist, as done in his first novel, was able to write a novel that, as a document of times, recommends itself in several ways: as one of few American war novels to emphasize life of returning soldier; as a brilliant and detailed picture of machine politics in Big City (again Chicago); as a discussion of post-War labor union agitation and Communism; as a depiction of plight of minorities; and as a portrait of frustrated artist. It may be true, as Fleming observes, that he taken up too many themes and thus done justice to none (Motley 118), and novel is structurally flawed in many ways, but We Fished All Night nevertheless remains a novel waiting to be rediscovered. Despite limited success of this novel, author of a reference book on American writers could state as late as 1953 that possessed a household name (Hughes 197). was to publish only two more novels. Let No Man Write My Epitaph (1958) is a sequel to Knock on Any Door. It records lives of Nick Romano's illegitimate son and younger brother following his execution. The novel expands Motley's view of corrupting influences of modern city, evident in naturalistic tone of his first novel, by including a frank discussion of drug abuse. Let No Man Write My Epitaph, while not nearly smash of Knock on Any Door, was successful enough to be filmed, with a cast that included James Darren, Shelley Winters, Burl Ives, and Ella Fitzgerald. Motley's final novel, published posthumously as Let Noon Be Fair in 1966, takes place in Motley's adopted home, and portrays the adverse effects America [has] on Mexico, ways in which the United States is exploiting Mexico both economically and culturally (Fleming, Motley 120). Let Noon Be Fair clearly shows Motley's desire to be a committed novelist, and while it thus looks back to his roots in proletarian writers of thirties,[2] it also looks far forward to a concern for welfare of third world that is still growing today. So why do these books go unread and unexamined? It could be because is often a clumsy writer. Much of criticism leveled at loose construction of We Fished All Night is fury warranted, but then U.S.A. can hardly be called a tightly-knit work. It could also be because Motley, to his detriment, honed his style as well as his disposition on works of Dreiser, Farren, and Wright. It could also be because seems to have arrived after his proper time period, or because all four of his novels are massive volumes, thick with documentary, almost scientific, detail. I believe, however, that there is another, more deeply seated reason why Willard is neglected, why has not received recognition that deserves. …