Contemporary African American Novelists: A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook

by Emmanuel S. Nelson (Editor)

Overview

During the last two decades, African American writers have emerged as a distinct and dominant force in world literature. This force has been gathering momentum since the 1950s, when James Baldwin published some of his most compelling works and Ralph Ellison stunned the literary establishment with his dazzling Invisible Man (1952). Empowered by the Civil Rights Movement and revitalized by the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s, this force became more potent and pervasive. The publication of Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye in 1970 was a major event in the literary history of the United States. With a voice as original as America itself, she began to conquer the English language and redefine the international literary landscape. Along with Morrison, scores of African American writers have mapped bold new territories and firmly entrenched themselves in the forefront of contemporary American literature. This reference book is a guide to the lives, works, and achievements of 79 contemporary African American novelists.

Through alphabetically arranged entries written by expert contributors, this volume offers lively, concise, and current information about these writers. Each entry begins with a biographical sketch of the author, provides a judicious critical assessment of the author's major works and themes, gives a representative sample of the critical responses the author's novels have elicited, and concludes with a selected bibliography that lists the author's publications as well as useful secondary material. Included are major figures, such as Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, James Baldwin, and Ralph Ellison. There are also entries for many noteworthy but lesser known figures, such as Tina McElroy Ansa, Bebe Moore Campbell, Randall Kenan, Reginald McKnight, Marita Golden, and Arthur Flowers. Some are popular writers with mass appeal, such as Terri McMillan and Frank Yerby; others, such as Octavia E. Butler, are known for their science fiction. Still others are distinguished poets or playwrights who have also published one or more significant novels. Of the 79 novelists profiled, 41 are women, and roughly a dozen have identified themselves as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Thus the volume demonstrates the enormous diversity of these writers and the breadth of their contribution to world literature.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313305016
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	02/28/1999
Pages:	552
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 1.19(d)
Lexile:	1330L (what's this?)

About the Author

EMMANUEL S. NELSON is Professor of English at the State University of New York College at Cortland. He is the author of more than 30 articles on various international literatures in English, and his books include Reworlding: The Literature of the Indian Diaspora (1992), Contemporary Gay American Novelists: A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook (1993), and Writers of the Indian Diaspora: A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook (1993), all available from Greenwood Press.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction by Deborah G. Plant
Tina McElroy Ansa by Joyce L. Cherry
Doris Jean Austin by Evra Jones
James Baldwin by Emmanuel S. Nelson
Toni Cade Bambara by Nanette Morton
Barry Beckam by Loretta G. Woodard
Hal Bennet by Adam Meyer
David Henry Bradley, Jr. by Marilyn Damarest Button
Gwendolyn Brooks by Suzanne Hotte Massa
Cecil Morris Brown by Samuel B. Garren
Frank London Brown by Charles Tita
Ed Bullins by Peggy Stevenson Ratliff
Octavia E. Butler by AnnLouise Keating
Bebe Moore Campbell by Joyce Russell-Robinson
Barbara Chase-Riboud by Sarah McKee
Alice Childress by Terry Novak
Michelle Cliff by Cora Agatucci
Cyrus Colter by Leela Kapai
Steven Corbin by Terrence J. McGovern
Samuel Delany by Grace Sikorski
William Dembey by Peter G. Christensen
Melvin Dixon by André Hoyrd
Larry Duplechan by Emmanuel S. Nelson
Ralph Waldo Ellison by Harish Chander
Arthur R. Flowers by Ymitri Jayasundera
Leon Forrest by Dana A. Williams
Albert French by Jeff Loeb
Ernest J. Gaines by Eberhard Alsen
Marita Golden by Loretta G. Woodard
Sam Greenlee by Adam Meyer
Bill Gunn by P. Jane Splawn
E. Lynn Harris by Grace Sikorski
Chester B. Himes by Bruce A. Glasrud and Laurie Champion
Kristin Hunter by Rennie Simson
Blyden Jackson by Gwendolyn S. Jones
Charles Johnson by Christian Morau
Gayl Jones by Kimberly N. Brown
June Jordan by Kimberly N. Brown
William Melvin Kelley by Anissa J. Wardi
Randall Kenan by Chris Roark
John Oliver Killens by Harish Chander
Jamaica Kincaid by Ymitri Jayasundera
Andrea Lee by Sarala Krishnamurthy
Audrey Lee by Charles Tita
Philip Lewis by Jeffrey Dunham
Audre Lorde by AnnLouise Keating
Clarence Major by Tracie Church Guzzio
Paule Marshall by Shanna D. Greene
Sharon Bell Mathis by Gwendolyn S. Jones
John A. McCluskey, Jr. by Laurie Champion
Terri McMillan by Rita B. Dandridge
Louise Meriwether by Kathy White
Toni Morrison by Eberhard Alsen
Walter Mosley by Kristina L. Knotts
Albert Murray by Roy Kay
Walter Dean Myers by Terry Novak
Gloria Naylor by Sarah Wheliss and Emmanuel S. Nelson
Ann Petry by Marlene D. Allen
Carlene Hatcher Polite by Frank-Damien Mvuyekure
Doris Sanders by Nicholyn Hutchinson
Sapphire by Tracey Walters
Gil Scott-Heron by Suzanne Hotte Massa
Ntosake Shange by Sarah Wheliss and Emmanuel S. Nelson
Charlotte Watson Sherman by Bindu Malieckal
Ann Allen Shockley by Adenike Marie Davidson
April Sinclair by Jacqueline C. Jones
Ellease Sutherland by Cherron A. Barnwell
Joyce Carol Thomas by Amy E. Earhart
Dawn Turbaner Trice by Lean'tin Bracks
Alice Walker by Molly Roden
Margaret Walker by Annette Debo
Dorothy West by A. Yemisi Jimoh
John Edgar Wideman by Robin Lucy
Sherley Anne Williams by Trela Anderson
Jacqueline Woodson by Nicola Morris
Sarah Elizabeth Wright by Linda M. White
Frank Garvin Yerby by Louis Hill Pratt
Index

Editorial Reviews

This volume provides biographical, critical, and bibliographical material on 79 black writers (41 of them women), ranging from such luminaries as Alice Walker to lesser-known artists like Philip Lewis. In collecting pieces on a spectrum of novelists, this book could serve a useful purpose, but it is marred by several flaws. First, there are some notable omissions, including Amiri Baraka and Rosa Guy. More importantly, some of the entries are of uneven quality. The book would have benefited from more rigorous editing to update information, check facts, correct inconsistencies in style, and tighten the writing. It is most valuable for the pieces on several recent and/or overlooked writers who have not yet received the critical attention they deserve (e.g., Melvin Dixon, Marita Golden). For other authors, readers will be better served by African American Writers (LJ 6/1/91) or the volumes on black writers in the Dictionary of Literary Biography.Louis J. Parascandola, Long Island Univ., Brooklyn, NY

Library Journal

This introduction to the contemporary African American novel highlights 79 writers whose works thematize not only racism and its devastating implications but a wide range of issues and concerns. Each entry begins with relevant biographical information on the novelist, offers a critical commentary on his or her works, provides an overview of the critical reception accorded, and concludes with a selected bibliography that lists the primary works and the secondary sources. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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