Charles Richard Johnson (b.1948) is an African-American scholar and the author of novels, short stories, screen-and-teleplays, and essays, most often with a philosophical—and Buddhist—orientation. He is best known for directly addressing black life issues in America in novels such as Dreamer and Middle Passage.
Born in Evanston, Illinois, Johnson began his career as a cartoonist before receiving his B.S. in journalism and M.A. in philosophy from Southern Illinois University and his PhD in philosophy and aesthetics from Stony Brook University. He has spent most of his career at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Johnson’s novels combine historical accuracy, parable, and elements of fantasy to render African-Americans’ experiences. They include Faith and the Good Thing (1974,) Oxherding Tale (1982,) The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (1986,) The Middle Passage (1990,) and Dreamer (2000.)
Johnson is also the author of two plays Olly Olly Oxen Free: a Farce in Three Acts (1988) and All This and Moonlight (1990,) as well as two collections of essays, Being and Race: Black Writing Since 1970 (1988) and Turning the Wheel: Essays on Buddhism and Writing (2003.)
Johnson is the coauthor of King: A Photobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. (2000.)
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Charles R. Johnson
You can’t escape history, or the needs and neuroses you’ve picked up like layers and layers of tartar on your teeth.
—Charles R. Johnson
Topics: Life
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