Willard Motley
Willard Motley was an African American naturalist in the Dreiser tradition whose novel Knock on Any Door became a sensation and the basis for a film. His work focused on white ethnic urban poverty, unusual for a Black American author.
Works
- Knock on Any DoorNovel of a poor boy's ascent into crime, corruption, and moral ruin in urban America
- We Fished All NightEpic novel of ordinary people's lives, dreams, and disappointments in postwar industrial America
- Let No Man Write My EpitaphNovel following a man's return to crime and redemption after serving a prison sentence
- Let Noon Be FairNovel set in a Depression-era Southern town exploring justice, injustice, and moral choice