[4] James V. Hatch has explained that Dodson "is the product of two parallel forces—the Black experience in America with its folk and urban routes, and a classical humanistic education.
"[5] Dodson's poetry varied widely and covered a broad range of subjects, styles, and forms.
He wrote at times, though rarely, in black dialect, and at others quoted and alluded to classical poetry and drama.
[4] One critic describes him as "a brilliant, gay man who discovered his sexual preference early in life, but who was nevertheless unlucky and unhappy in several ill-fated relationships.
In an interview with Charles H. Rowell, he said: In drama, he cited Henrik Ibsen as an influence, though again as an initial relationship later to be reworked and half-forgotten.