Black Literature Criticism 3 vols

This set updates and complements Black Literature Criticism: Excerpts from Criticism of the Most Significant Works of Black Authors over the Past 200 Years (1992). Although the 1992 work and its 1999 supplement excerpted criticism published up to 1991 and 1998, respectively, most of the works that were covered were published before 1950. The current set covers works published since 1950. Entries for 38 of the previously covered authors have been updated, and 42 more authors have been added. Updated entries contain rewritten biographies as well as criticism published after 1998. Like its predecessor, this work includes African American, Caribbean, and African writers who produce works in English. Authors range from relative newcomers, such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Edwidge Danticat, Randall Kenan, and Suzan-Lori Parks, to classic authors, such as James Baldwin, Ralph Ellison, and Alice Walker. The structure of each entry follows the same pattern as other works within the Gale Literature Criticism series, with a biography, portrait, list of principal works, criticism, and an annotated further-reading list. Many of the authors are covered in other Gale titles, so the entries here often provide references to those other works. Similarly, in addition to cumulating entries from all of the Black Literature Criticism volumes, the three indexes (author, title, and nationality) provide see also references to other Gale literary and biographical resources. The updates and additional authors covered make this a worthwhile purchase for libraries with the earlier volumes. Academic and public libraries that did not purchase the earlier volumes should still consider this as a valuable resource for newer black authors, although readers will need access to the earlier volumes for older criticism on the authors whose entries have been updated.