Writing African American Women [Two Volumes] An Encyclopedia of Literature by and about Women of Color

Subjects:

• Literature » American Literature
• Literature » Literature (General)
• Multicultural Studies » Black Studies
• Women's Studies » Women in Literature & the Arts

Reviews:

• The work of over 100 academic contributors, this A-to-Z encyclopedia, in the words of editor Beaulieu, is the first to focus specifically on feminist and womanist approaches to African American literature. The approximately 400 entries cover writers (e.g., Octavia Butler, Angela Jackson, Pauli Murray), written works (e.g., Beloved, Kindred, Mama Day), and themes addressed in writings of interest to an understanding of African American women and their depiction in literature (e.g., beauty, film, slavery)....A time line, bibliography, and comprehensive index, as well as contributor bios, all help make this encyclopedia accessible to students at high school level and above. Generous cross-referencing further enhances its usefulness as a research tool. Recommended for all public and university libraries.
  —Library Journal June 15, 2006
• This encyclopedia presents 400 articles that treat African American women writers from the 18th century forward, their works and themes, and a handful of male authors as well. Contributors look at the writers and their works from a feminist-womanist perspective, and address issues relating to race, class, and gender. Topical entries, e.g., "Work," "Protest Tradition," "Religion," "The Use of Myth," and "Memory," provide a rich context for the literature. Most entries include a brief bibliography of primary and secondary sources. The encyclopedia is thoroughly cross-referenced, and includes an alphabetical and thematic list of entries, a literary time line, and a selected bibliography of book-length studies on African American literature from a feminist perspective....[t]his encyclopedia provides interested browsers with discoveries and new ideas, and scholars with details that might otherwise be difficult to track down. Recommended. Large public libraries, schools, and all academic libraries supporting lower-division undergraduates through faculty/researchers; general readers.
  —Choice November 2006
• This two-volume set consists of entries related to literature by and about African American women, with a focus on feminist and womanist approaches by writers of fiction, nonfiction, drama, and poetry. Meant to contribute to the ongoing transformation of the American literary canon, the encyclopedia includes 400 entries appropriate for scholars, high school and college students, and general readers. A sampling of writers: Phyllis Wheatley, Zora Neale Hurston, Suzan Lori Parks, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Mae Cowdery, and Kate Drumgoold. Children's authors, political pamphleteers, and journalists are included, as well as some male writers who address themes from feminist or womanist perspectives, like Ralph Ellison and Frederick Douglass. Biographical entries encompass analyses and a selective works list, and works and thematic articles are included, covering topics such as race, stereotypes, motherhood, sexuality, slavery, violence, masculinity, black feminist criticism, and the South.
  —Reference & Research Book News February 2007
• This two-volume A-to-Z encyclopedia, the first of its kind, embraces the writings of African American women through the benefaction of over 100 academic contributors, bringing to light the rich textures and vibrant motifs that have come to define the work of African American women writers....This two-volume set is a valuable, if not indispensable, addition to any research institution or public library. It may well find its home in academic departments interested in women's or cultural studies, anthropology, history, and of course African American studies. Like its contributors, this work is representative of a nation of women writers and their legacy to American literature. Writing African American Women should be considered a foundational source for the study of writings by and about women of color, as well as a starting point for further academic pursuits in the study of African American culture.
  —Feminist Collections Summer 2006
• [T]his 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.
  —Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin December 15, 2006
• 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 Winter 2006
• 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....A clearly written, accessible resource.
  —School Library Journal October 2006
• The 378 essays of this encyclopedia explore the portrayal of African American women in American literature....The result is a guide that opens the mosaic of African American literature for students and the general reader. This set will serve a wide audience in both public and academic libraries.
  —Lawrence Looks At Books August 2006

• Endorsement From Trudier Harris
  J. Carlyle Sitterson Professor of Enlish
  The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Cruical and indispensable. These two words best describe Writing African American Women: An Encyclopedia of Literature by and about Women of Color. Professor Beaulieu has managed, yet again, to enlist the aid of her colleagues in compiling an invaluable tool that makes clear the richness and continually evolving diversity of African American women's literary traditions. From focus on the most famous black women writers to those so little known that their inclusion here might serve as their introduction to a larger reading public, this volume offers material that any reader, teacher, or scholar of African American literature will find essential.
• Endorsement From R. Baxter Miller
  Professor of English
  Director, The Institute for African American Studies
  University of Georgia: The Feminist Encyclopedia of African American Literature is the perfect complement to the forthcoming Encyclopedia of African American Literature co-edited by Hans Ostrom. What works especially well in the Beaulieu design is enabling a reader to triangulate important information quickly as author, theme, or text. The entries, extending across spirituals, slave narratives, and children's literature, as well as polemics and even journalism, provide nicely detailed and reliable information. In addition to a treatment of genre, contexts such as Great Migration, Black Nationalism, and African American Feminism are instructive. In many instances, the thematic reading of texts and critical reception span dozens of authors before and beyond the modern canon. Every major research and public library should own the invaluable resource.
  

Table of Contents:

• Introduction
• Alphabetical Table of Contents
• Thematic Table of Contents
• The Encyclopedia
• Timeline
• Selected Bibliography
• Index

PDF Catalogs:
Greenwood Multicultural Spring 2008.pdf	Sale Catalog 2008.pdf
Greenwood Literature Spring 2008.pdf