Writing African American Women: An Encyclopedia of Literature by and about Women of Color, Volumes 1 and 2 - ed. Elizabeth Ann Beaulieu

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.