Encyclopedia of African American Writing, 2nd Edition

Encyclopedia of African American Writing, 2nd Edition
Publisher: Grey House Publishing | 2009 | PDF | 865 pages | ISBN: 1592372910 | 14.1Mb
This unique title profiles several hundred African American fiction and nonfiction writers from Colonial times to the

present. The table of contents lists the authors alphabetically and then divides them into 17 categories (novels, short

stories, slave narratives, etc.) and nine themes (Folktales, the Harlem Renaissance, Trickster Tales, etc.); authors whose

work spans several categories are listed separately under each. The profiles themselves, presented alphabetically and

ranging from a paragraph for less well known writers like Ai Ogawa to three pages for writers like Ralph Ellison or Terry

McMillan, are both biographical and critical, although the amount of criticism varies. Included in each entry are the

writer's birth and death dates, the categories into which he or she fits, and any pseudonyms. Black-and-white

illustrations, references, genre lists, a comprehensive index, and chronologies of the writer's life dates and of African

American literary firsts complete this impressive title. Hatch, a freelance writer, and Strickland (creative writing,

Jersey City State Coll.) are to be commended; no other single work seeks to include all past and present African American

writers of significance in such an affordable format. The book is not without its flaws, however, the primary one being

uneven writing. (Entries are not attributed, but most were written by Hatch with some help from other contributors.) Some

entries have the polished, formal writing style that one expects from a reference work, while others suffer from a liberal

use of colloquial English, awkward sentence structure, and far too many distracting parenthetical statements. One hopes

that later editions will correct these problems and include any omissions. Despite the drawbacks, the comprehensiveness of

the work, its affordability, and the promise of future updates make this an appealing choice for all public and academic

libraries.

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