Product Description

African American culture is enormously diverse, and the experience of women in African American society is especially complex. Women were among the first African American writers, and works by black women writers are popular among students and general readers alike. At the same time, African American women have been oppressed, and texts by black male authors represent women in a variety of ways. The first of its kind, this encyclopedia approaches African American literature from a Women's Studies perspective and thus significantly illuminates the African American cultural experience through literary works. Included are several hundred alphabetically arranged entries, written by numerous expert contributors. In addition to covering male and female African American authors, the encyclopedia also discusses themes, major works and characters, genres, periods, historical events, places, and other topics. An alphabetical list of entries, a list of entries grouped in topical categories, and an extensive index help make the book accessible and easy to use.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1992383 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 5.37 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 1040 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 10 Up–A collection consisting of essays with an acknowledged feminist/womanist perspective. It also contains biographies of those male writers who have dealt with themes from feminist perspectives, as well as important works, movements, periods, genres, and events relevant to the literature. Each author profile is followed by a list of selected works by and about the subject. Unfortunately, there are no illustrations. The first volume provides lists of the entries in both thematic and alphabetical order. The essays, which include cross-references in bold print, are by a variety of literary critics and experts, particularly African-American women. Although several of the authors are identified as writers of literature for children and young adults, not all are. For example, the poet Lucille Clifton's Everett Anderson series is neither discussed in the section about her nor listed in the bibliography of her work. The second volume includes a listing of the contributors' credentials and a brief time line of significant literary events, with bold entries indicating African-American firsts. A clearly written, accessible resource.–Linda Greengrass, Bank Street College Library, New York City
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Following closely on the heels of the five-volume Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Literature (2005), this set not only overlaps the coverage of that work but also strongly resembles it in outward appearance and format. Beaulieu, who also edited The Toni Morrison Encyclopedia (2003), concentrates on writings by black women from the antebellum period to the present, noting that Writing African American Women is the first reference work to focus "specifically on feminist and womanist approaches to African American literature."

Contributed primarily by scholars from U.S. academic institutions, the 379 alphabetically arranged articles cover authors, significant works, themes, and other topics. Although most of the writers featured are black women, a number of prominent black men, such as Frederick Douglass and Richard Wright, are also included. With the exception of the 16-page overview article Literature,^B entries generally range in length from 1 to 6 pages, and most include cross-references and selective bibliographies. Prefacing the entry portion of each volume are alphabetical and thematic lists of entries. Unfortunately, the thematic list omits a large number of the entries in the encyclopedia. For instance, there is no category identifying individual works treated (e.g., Our Nig, Sula); no representation of articles on specific stereotypes (e.g., Aunt Jemima, Jezebel); and no listings for political and literary movements (e.g., Civil rights movement, Harlem Renaissance). Concluding the set are a brief chronology of major milestones in the history of African American women's writing, a general bibliography, a detailed index, and a directory of contributors.

Although this set differs in focus, approach, and perspective, it duplicates a considerable amount of information in the aforementioned Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Literature. Only 16 of the writers in the current set are not featured in the earlier one, and both works include articles on topics such as autobiography, epistolary novel, and slave narrative. On the other hand, the earlier set does not contain entries for individual titles, nor does it include entries on motherhood, rape, and a number of other subjects critical to the understanding of black women's writings.

Although it is flawed by the incomplete thematic list, this work is an important contribution to the study of African American literature by and about women. Its well-written articles are appropriate for students, scholars, and general readers, and it will be especially valuable in larger public libraries and in academic libraries that support programs in women's studies and African American studies. Marie Ellis
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"The scope of this two-volume encyclopedia makes it a welcome addition to scholarship about African-American women writers....Of the approximately 400 entries, 225 examine the lives and work of individual African-American women writers, ranging in time from the colonial period to contemporary emerging authors....The work ends with time line listing major literary achievements of African-American women, followed by a selected bibliography of secondary sources....The length and introductory lists of topics make this work usable as a very browsable reader's guide. This encyclopedia is essential for college libraries, and recommended for high school and public libraries." -

MultiCultural Review