The Oxford Companion to African American Literature [Hardcover]

William L. Andrews (Editor), Francis Smith Foster (Editor), Trudier Harris (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 27, 1997

Here indeed is the pantheon of African American writers--Phillis Wheatley and Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass and W. E. B. Du Bois, Gwendolyn Brooks and Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen, James Baldwin and Ralph Ellison, Toni Morrison and Alice Walker, John Edgar Wideman and August Wilson, Jamaica Kincaid and Gloria Naylor, Stanley Crouch and Cornel West, and hundreds more. Moreover, the Companion includes entries on 150 major works of African American literature (including synopses of novels), from Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Richard Wright's Native Son, to Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun; on literary characters, ranging from Bigger Thomas, to Coffin Ed Johnson, Kunta Kinte, Sula Peace; on character types, such as Aunt Jemima, Brer Rabbit, John Henry, Stackolee, and the trickster; and on such icons of black culture as Muhammad Ali, John Coltrane, Marcus Garvey, Jackie Robinson, John Brown, and Harriet Tubman. Here, too, are 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, including journalism, the black periodical press, major libraries and research centers, religion, literary societies, women's clubs, and various publishing enterprises.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This important sourcebook for information about black writers and their craft is a welcome companion to the recently issued Norton Anthology of African American Literature. More to the point, it shows how much black literature, once relegated to the margins, has become mainstream. Here are brief biographies of more than 400 black writers, entries on some 150 works, and a host of entries on characters from novels, stories, and plays. In addition, there are entries on topics such as Afrocentricity (as well as on topics of more general interest, such as the novel), that make this essential for anyone who cares about black literature.

From Library Journal

The focus of previous reference works on African American literature has been narrow: the Harlem Renaissance, biography, women writers, etc. Editor Andrews (Classic Fiction of the Harlem Renaissance, LJ 4/1/94) here provides an Oxford companion that covers virtually all "the writers and writings that have made African American literature valuable and distinctive." There are many essays on such topics and genres as television and the novel; a 15-page overview of the whole of African American literary history; some 400 biographical entries, including figures such as Jackie Robinson, whose literary influence has been significant; digests of hundreds of novels, poems, and essays; and sketches of fictional characters, character types ("Uncle Tom"), and occupations. The signed, well-written, and authoritative entries include helpful bibliographies and extensive cross references. A vital reference tool for both general readers and scholars, this outstanding book belongs in every academic, public, and school library. (Index not seen.)?Peter A. Dollard, Alma Coll. Lib., Mich.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 866 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (March 27, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195065107
• ISBN-13: 978-0195065107
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.5 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #137,256 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OUTSTANDING RESOURCE, May 20, 2001

By 

Bonita L. Davis - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Oxford Companion to African American Literature (Hardcover)

Everything that you wanted to know or needed to know about African American Literature is contained in this eight hundred page volume. This comprehensive volume covers the historical and cultural contexts of African American literature that has been too long neglected.

Oxford's Companion encompasses the traditional genres of poetry, fiction and drama but goes beyond them. It gives the same analysis to special genres such as Slave Narratives, Oratory, Folk Literature, etc. that you don't normally find in reference works of this kind. These special features and others give this book a unique spot in reference works of literature.

From the moment I got this volume in my hands, I couldn't put it down. Its numerous essays, brief biographies and analysis of the various hues of African American Literature was overwhelming and enjoyable. A referance guide such as this should be in every home. It is user friendly, informative and entertaining. Most of all it will give you a deeper appreciation of the vast types of African American literature produced throughout the years.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An English Graduate Student in Nashville, April 24, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Oxford Companion to African American Literature (Hardcover)

I purchased this anthology to assist me in my African-American literature class. This book has given me great insight about the literature of African-Americans. Not only does it give great details about the many authors, but it also explains the nature of their many works. I strongly recommend this book to anyone taking an African-American literature course - regardless of the time period.