Jacqueline Amanda Woodson is an American writer, who has written books for teens and children. Her notable works include Miracle’s Boys, Brown girl with Dreaming, Feathers and Show Way.
The “Coretta Scott King Award” was given to her book, Miracle’s Boys in 2001. However, the rest of the aforementioned books are awarded Newbery Honor.
Woodson is such a writer who has found gaps in literary pieces and discussed that. She has turned the readers’ attention towards those things which were hidden or haven’t been discussed.
She has highlighted homosexuality, teenage pregnancy, and interracial couples. Along with that, she gives glimpses of African American society and history in her works.
Jacqueline Woodson Biography
Jacqueline Amanda Woodson is an American writer born on 12 February 1963 in Columbus, Ohio. Her parents’ names are Jack and Mary Ann Woodson. She and her older brother spent their lives in moving places such as Brooklyn, New York, and Carolina till 1968-1973.
Ultimately, her grandmother settled in Bushwick. Though her mother didn’t have wealth, her grandparents were wealthy. All the time while moving places she felt that she didn’t belong there. She thought of herself as outside of the world.
Education
She had an unbalanced childhood since she was a nonconformist deep down. She had spent her teen years being alone and frustrated due to her own distinct views and comportment.
She did her B.A. in English from Adelphi University in 1985. Moreover, she has also studied creative writing at the New School for Social Research.
Personal life
Woodson lives with her partner named Juliet Widoff who is a physician in Brooklyn. In 2006, she gave birth to her first child named Toshi Georgianna. Afterward her second child Jackson Leroi was born.
Writing career
After she did her B.A she took the start of her career at Kirchoff/Wohlberg, a children’s packaging company. She has also provided her devices for writing California standardized reading tests. She took her manuscript to two publishers at first but didn’t succeed. Afterward, Wendy Lamb published her works.
Additionally, Woodson has also served as a writing professor at Goddard College, Eugene Lang College, Vermont College. Also, in the National Book Foundation, she has worked as a writer-in-residence.
Moreover, her writing influence from James Baldwin and Virginia Hamilton paves way for her writing career. Similarly, she also became influential for other writers in which An Na is also included. She taught her tactics of writing.
Censorship
Some of Woodson’s were censor on the basis of spreading vulgar content i-e, homosexuality, and sexual abuse. The critics think her writings instead of giving a message are spreading vulgarity.
Jacqueline Woodson’s Writing style
The most prominent feature of her style is the tactful use of imagery in her works. She even describes the minor things with the help of imagery. She designs her works in such a way that it appeals to readers.
With each line, the reader seems to sense the things the way Jacqueline wants them to. By going through lines, readers start to conjure up the different images in their minds. She has used it as a tool to control the senses of readers and make them dive into the text.
Figurative language
The most occurring figurative devices that could be found in her works are metaphor, simile, and personification. She used metaphors and personification to describe the qualities and appearances of the character. With the help of personification Woodson sometimes depicts the nature of her characters as well.
For instance, in her book “Feathers” she describes the new student, his entry and timidity by the metaphor of snow “stepped through that door white and softly as the snow”. Similarly, she also takes assistance from personification when it comes to the description of characters.
For instance, in the book “We Had a Picnic Last Sunday Past” Teeka personifies one member of her family with a moon pie “Moon Pie is really Joseph, but doesn’t he look like a moon pie?”
Genre
Her writings are based upon realistic fiction. She tries to mirror the realities of the world before readers. In particular, those realities which she felt were missing like the lives of African American girls growing up in Brooklyn, the family raised by a grandmother and single mother, life of a deaf kid. She wants to show the part of life which she thinks wasn’t explored.
Language
Woodson has employed comprehensible, simple, and real language. She wants her writer to feel real and feel the deep message she wants to convey. Her language turns a different shift of tone in her works. Sometimes it is gloomy and serious while other times it’s cheerful and funny.
Her writings don’t usually end with happy endings. However, she conveys hope at the end no matter what situations are. She wants her readers to be optimistic and search for hopes they have listed and hold on to life firmly.
Characters and Setting
Regarding the setting, Woodson has provided rich details on the surroundings. She comes up with a precise description of the landscape of the works. She thinks by describing landscapes would not only beautify the text but also add some clues and ideas to relate it with the barriers characters are facing.
On the other hand, she gives an optimistic portrayal of her characters. She makes boundaries not only in a geographical sense but also in a psychological sense. The characters are supposed to break those boundaries to lead the story towards an emotional and suspenseful place.
By this she wanted her readers to be on the edge of their seats. However, the characters, in the end, learned how to tackle their messed up situations. In this way, they are shown as strong and optimistic.
Major Themes in Jacqueline Woodson’s Writings
Woodson has discussed those things which were before her books haven’t been highlighted. She depicts homosexuality, teenage pregnancy, and interracial couples. She has raised awareness and questions to those issues which were suppressed before.
Economic status
She has shed light on the difference in economic levels within the black community. She highlights the sufferings of financially unstable black characters in “The Dear One” In this way, she demonstrates how the black community is being marginalized and facing economic issues.
Gender
She has also focused on the themes of gender. This is the reason she has written her novels with female narrators and transgender as well. Putting their perspective regarding the world before readers she wants to depict their miseries.
She wants her readers not just to read but to absorb her words and feel for such miserable members of society. In her work “How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity” she has put forward the perspective of transgender.
African American society and history
Her writings recount the racial differences between the white and black communities. By doing so she also inserts the historical elements or events which pinpoint the brutal history of violence against race.
Her book “Coming on Home Soon” represents the unbalanced position of races and gender within the context of the Second world war.
On the other hand, “The Other Side” depicts the lives of two young girls from different races. She shows how the border or fence has separated the worlds of the white and black girls.
Family
Woodson has emphasized the role of the family in children’s lives. Also, she has accentuated the importance of family in her novel “Miracle’s Boys” and “Brown Girl Dreaming” that how it is an integral part of life. She tries to elaborate on the influence and difference that can make the perturbed lives of children into better lives.
