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African American Writers: Home

Montage of African American authors

From Left to Right: Ta-Nehisi Coates, Alice Walker, Frederick Douglass, E. Lynn Harris, Octavia Butler, Ralph Ellison, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston

Reference Works

Dictionary of Literary Biography

The Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB) is the standard resource for very detailed biographical articles on writers of all types, in many genres. Each volume is devoted to authors from a particular time, country, or genre. 

Do a search for an author's name in the Literature Resource Center, then go to the "Content Types" menu on the upper right of the screen. Click on "Biographies." DLB content will be found in the resulting list.

Literature Resource Center

Introduction

Introduction 

This guide is designed to give a brief overview of African American writers in America. Here you will find all sorts of materials available through the Gumberg Library on African American novelists, poets, and playwrights—both classic and modern—including reference works, print and electronic books, as well as databases for articles.

Find Dissertations

To access electronic resources off campus you will need to enter your Multipass information

Cambridge Companions

Journals

To use e-journals off-campus, you will need to enter your Multipass username and password when you click on a link.

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Guide created by Christopher Anthony, English Department Intern, Gumberg Library, November 2018