African American Literature

Focuses on writers and works published since 1950. The majority of the authors surveyed are African American, but representative African and Caribbean authors are also included.

Examining works by Toni Morrison, Paule Marshall, Faith Ringgold, and Betye Saar, this innovative book frames black women's aesthetic sensibilities across art forms. Investigating the relationship between vernacular folk culture and formal expression, this study establishes how each of the four artists engaged the identity issues of the 1960s and used folklore as a strategy for crossing borders in the works they created during the following two decades.

fro-American detective fiction's history is traced in a study which examines the works of four black contributors to the genre.

Users looking for authoritative and comprehensive information about black history, figures and accomplishments now have a defining and current reference to address their needs. Whereas the first edition focused almost exclusively on the United States, this new set identifies and addresses broad themes critical to understanding the texture of the cultures, achievements, challenges and comprise North America, Central and South America and the Caribbean. While many articles from the original set have updated content and bibliographies, almost half of the second edition is composed of completely new scholarship.