African American Literature

Reference presents a comprehensive overview of the literary traditions, oral and print, of African-descended peoples in the United States. Expert contributors emphasize the dual nature of each text discussed as a work of art created by an individual and as a response to unfolding events in American cultural, political, and social history.

This reference offers thorough critical assessments of the lives and works of African American playwrights from the 19th century to the present. Each entry is written by an expert contributor and includes a biography, a discussion of major works and themes, a summary of the playwright's critical reception, and primary and secondary bibliographies.

This encyclopedia is the most comprehensive reference available on African American literature. While most of the entries are on individual authors, the encyclopedia gives special attention to the historical, cultural, and political contexts that have shaped African American writing.

African American culture draws upon a rich body of traditions from Africa, Latin America, and the South, and folklore is fundamental to the African American heritage. Included are roughly 700 entries by more than 100 expert contributors on such topics as folktales, music, art, foodways, spiritual beliefs, proverbs, and many other subjects.

"Ervin's comprehensive and handy compilation of essential background and interpretive materials for studying African American literature fills a void that has existed in literary scholarship. The handbook features Terms of 415 literary terms, ages, movements, periods, and cultural sources, all cross-referenced. Definitions provide substantive discussion and cite specific examples from the works of major critics and major and minor writers from the 1700s to the present. Review the Appendices too.

This work provides a wealth of information on obscure and overlooked American playwrights as well as some famous ones. The volume also supplies a bibliography of anthologies, books, and periodicals cited; mailing addresses for more than 200 of the playwrights; and title and subject indexes.

This reference volume addresses an often overlooked area in the history of the American theatre, the contributions of early Black playwrights and dramatic writers. This work is an important reference source for courses in Black American drama and theatre history.

The reference is a comprehensive compilation of information on all aspects of this creative, dynamic period; from the music of Louis Armstrong to the portraits by Beauford Delaney, the writings of Langston Hughes to the debut of the musical Show Boat. The Harlem Renaissance is one of the most significant developments in African-American history in the twentieth century.

Offers a comprehensive collection of terms, from the oldest to the 1990s, as well as clear straightforward definitions of words, phrases, and expressions, with many examples in context;

Reference includes entries on 150 major works of African American literature (including synopses of novels), general articles on the traditional literary genres, such as poetry, fiction, and drama; on genres of special import in African American letters, such as autobiography, slave narratives, Sunday School literature, and oratory; and on a wide spectrum of related topics...