Miss MacIntosh, My Darling: Chapter 65: About Mr. Bonebreaker the Bible Salesman, Owen Dodson

Owen Dodson reads Chapter 65, About Mr. Bonebreaker the Bible Salesman, of Miss MacIntosh, My Darling by Marguerite Young. Dodson (1914-1983) was a poet, novelist, and playwright. He was associated with the Harlem Renaissance and has been referred to as "one of the most influential directors in the black academic theatre from the 1940's to the 1970's." His major works include: Garden of Time (1945), Boy at the Window (1951), The Confession Stone (1960), Till Victory Is Won (1965), and The Harlem Book of the Dead (1978). His work has been extensively translated abroad. Dodson was the recipient of a Rosenwald Fellowship (1944-45), a Guggenheim Fellowship (1953-54), and a Rockefeller Grant (1969-70).

Titus Bonebreaker roams the streets of Chicago, sharing the word of God. Despite their dire differences, Bonebreaker finds love with Miss MacIntosh. He, in denial about his impoverished state, speaks out against diversity and change. She enjoys their urban walks. They agree to wed; the Biblesalesman is under the impression that by doing this, he will "save" Miss MacIntosh. He leaves her on the eve of their wedding night, after discovering that she does not need to be saved and because she is bald.

Often compared to James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake, Young's novel resonates with unique and poignant observations of American culture, in an epic and surrealist poetic prose. It took the under-recognized, enigmatic and iconoclastic author eighteen years of work to complete this dense, two volume novel.

In 1976-77, Charles Ruas produced a series of WBAI radio programs focused on literature and radio performance, called The Reading Experiment. As part of this series, Miss MacIntosh, My Darling was read over a year-long period by Marguerite Young’s contemporaries from the New York City literature, music, and theater communities. All readings are underscored with soundscapes and music by artist Rob Wynne.

This program has been restored by The Clocktower Radio; with the assistance of Charles Ruas; and by agreement with The Yale Beinecke Library, home to the Marguerite Young Papers. Special thanks to Dr. Contance Eichenlaub for her passion and generosity.

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