ENGL 361: The New Black Arts Movement: Expressive Culture After Nationalism (HC)

An indispensable literary reference guide that comes at a time of formidable complexity in literary studies A New Handbook of Literary Terms offers a lively, informative guide to words and concepts that every student of literature needs to know. Mikics's definitions are essayistic, witty, learned, and always a pleasure to read. They sketch the derivation and history of each term, including especially lucid explanations of verse forms and providing a firm sense of literary periods and movements from classicism to postmodernism. The Handbook also supplies a helpful map to the intricate and at times confusing terrain of literary theory at the beginning of the twenty-first century: the author has designated a series of terms, from New Criticism to queer theory, that serves as a concise but thorough introduction to recent developments in literary study. Mikics's Handbook is ideal for classroom use at all levels, from freshman to graduate. Instructors can assign individual entries, many of which are well-shaped essays in their own right. Useful bibliographical suggestions are given at the end of most entries. The Handbook's enjoyable style and thoughtful perspective will encourage students to browse and learn more. Every reader of literature will want to own this compact, delightfully written guide.

Through a series of essays that explore the forms, themes, genres,historical contexts, major authors, and latest critical approaches,A Companion to African American Literature presents acomprehensive chronological overview of African American literaturefrom the eighteenth century to the modern day Examines African American literature from its earliest origins,through the rise of antislavery literature in the decades leadinginto the Civil War, to the modern development of contemporaryAfrican American cultural media, literary aesthetics, and politicalideologies Addresses the latest critical and scholarly approaches toAfrican American literature Features essays by leading established literary scholars aswell as newer voices

This abridgement of The Oxford Companion to African American Literature will make the entries of the greatest general interest available to a wider audience, providing the same calibre of scholarship and information as the original volume. The Concise collects more than 400 biographies (authors, critics, literary characters and historical figures) of both well-known figures and the lives and careers of writers not found in other reference works. The abridgement also includes the 150 plot summaries of major works. The editors briefly update the biographic details for author entries to include mention of major new works, death dates, and awards since the Companion's 1997 publication.