From Left to Right: Ta-Nehisi Coates, Alice Walker, Frederick Douglass, E. Lynn Harris, Octavia Butler, Ralph Ellison, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston
The Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature by 
Encyclopedia of the Harlem Literary Renaissance by 
The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature by 
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.
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.
Click a link below to see all print books on that topic at the Gumberg Library
To access electronic resources off campus you will need to enter your Multipass information
The Cambridge Companion to African American Theatre by 
The Cambridge Companion to African American Women's Literature by 
Cambridge Companion to the African American Novel by 
The Cambridge Companion to the African American Slave Narrative by 
The Cambridge Companion to the Harlem Renaissance by 
The Oxford Companion to African American Literature by To use e-journals off-campus, you will need to enter your Multipass username and password when you click on a link.
To access electronic resources off campus you will need to enter your Multipass information
To learn how to find full text, click here
Other Databases
Guide created by Christopher Anthony, English Department Intern, Gumberg Library, November 2018
