AAPEX Book Review: Dr. Frank E. Dobson, Jr's RENDERED INVISIBLE: STORIES OF BLACKS & WHITES, LOVE & DEATH

Dr. Frank E. Dobson, Jr.

The African American Playwrights' Exchange

Recommended Reading

RENDERED INVISIBLE: STORIES OF BLACKS & WHITES, LOVE & DEATH

by Dr. Frank E. Dobson, Jr.,

Director of Vanderbilt University's

Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center

& Adjunct Professor at Fisk University

Intense in both style and subject matter, RENDERED INVISIBLE is a collection of one novella and five shorter pieces which, collectively, offer insight into America's "culture of race" as it impacts all of us, both psychologically and emotionally. The protagonists are African American men ranging from the blue collar anti-hero of the title piece to a fatherless child named "junior" to a fellow who seeks to balance his own life issues when faced with the life of another man who has escaped the genocide of Rwanda. Dobson's skills as a dramatist infuse all six pieces with a powerful sense of personality, drawing the reader into each character's unique emotional turmoil. Throughout is the thread of social alienation which continues to haunt this country, where the promise of equality can't shake free from the enigma of race.

The stories in RENDERED INVISIBLE all have strong cinematic qualities. One piece, BLACK MESSIAHS DIE, has already made the transition to stage play under the title YOUNG MESSIAHS FLY.

The collection is also sure to find a place on the reading lists for courses on contemporary American and African American literature.

Dobson's strong connection to his material no doubt has its roots in a career which spans forty years and fuses outstanding academic achievements with a clear passion for community involvement and mentoring, and a life which has journeyed from the working class streets of Buffalo, NY to the prestigious halls of Nashville's Vanderbilt University to classrooms across the country.

For more information on Dr. Dobson and RENDERED INVISIBLE, visit www.frankedobsonjr.com

To order the book, please click the post's title.

Book review by Jaz Dorsey,

AAPEX Dramaturg