Encyclopedia of African-American writing

Summary: "A timely survey of an important sector of American letters, this fourth edition of The encyclopedia of African-American writing highlights the role and influence of African-American cultural leaders, from all walks of life, from the 17th century to the present. The text takes readers on a journey to learn about what inspired various African-American writers to create poems, plays, short stories, novels, essays, opinion pieces, and numerous other works, and how those writings contributed to American culture... New arrangement, this edition has a new topical arrangement, to aid in discovery. The entries are grouped into four main sections: Author biographies, for a total of 722, with illustrations, cover the important events in a writer's life, education, major works, honors and awards, and family and important associates. African American organizations & publications give readers more information about the groups and publications that were important to these writers. Primary documents take the reader on a literary journey from a slave contract in 1635 to the present day. African American movements help readers better understand several elements of the civil rights movement, the struggle for voting rights, and the Black Lives Matter movement, among others. Several timelines, chronologies, and appendices help readers navigate the text and make literary connections by genre, time, and occupation."--