Modernism’s Wild Child: The Interplay of Modernist and Children’s Literature

Author

• Rachel RiffelFollow

Document Type

Thesis

Date of Degree Completion

Spring 2026

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

English Literature

Committee Chair

Christopher Schedler

Second Committee Member

Sarah Sillin

Third Committee Member

Sharryn Larsen Walker

Fourth Committee Member

Dean of Graduate Studies

Abstract

Within literary criticism, American and British modernism are often characterized by the disillusioned writers and creators who established an elitist literary community during the early 20^th century. This period is also distinguished by the Harlem Renaissance highlighting Black art, culture, and writing. Gertrude Stein, T. S. Eliot, Langston Hughes and Arna Bontemps are well-known for contributing core texts to modernism and the Harlem Renaissance that expressed existential themes and developed experimental techniques. What many readers don’t know, however, is that these authors and many other contemporaries wrote stories and poetry for children. In this thesis, I explore the children’s literature of these modernist authors, as well as their inclusion of progressive themes and experimental techniques, and argue that due to these dynamic elements children’s literature should be included as a subgenre in both the canons of modernism and the Harlem Renaissance.

Recommended Citation

Riffel, Rachel, "Modernism’s Wild Child: The Interplay of Modernist and Children’s Literature" (2026). All Master's Theses. 2316.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/2316