A to Z of American Women Writers (A to Z of Women)

Presents a biographical dictionary profiling important women authors, including birth and death dates, accomplishments and bibliography of each author's work. In the canon of American literature, most of the writers traditionally included have almost always been men. In A to Z of American Women Writers, this common mispercerption is dispelled as more than 150 women, whose works span four centuries and have greatly influenced American writing, are profiled. Although this list of women is by no means exhaustive, the writers profiled represent a great diversity in the time periods during which they lived, and their genres, writing styles, and subject matters.

Each profile features:

•An indepth examination of its subject's biography

•Literary and personal influences as well as a discussion of each writer's major works

•A further reading section at the end of the profile listing sources for further study on the author or her works.

Three subject indexes—one by genre, another by the dates of birth, and a third by theme are included, with a general index.

Profiles include:

•Mary Rowlandson (c. 16351711): Nonfiction writer

•Harriet Beecher Stowe (18111896): Novelist

•Harriet A. Jacobs (18131897): Autobiographer

•Nellie Bly (18651922): Journalist

•Pearl S. Buck (18921973): Novelist and Autobiographer

•Dorothy Parker (18931767): Critic, Short Story Writer, and Poet

•Toni Morrison (1931present): Novelist and Essayist

•Joan Didion (1934-present): Novelist, Essayist, and Journalist

•Maxine Hong Kingston (1940-present): Novelist and Memoirist

•Rita Dowe (1952-present): Poet and Short Story Writer Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 10 Author's Note......Page 12 Introduction......Page 14 A......Page 20 B......Page 36 C......Page 62 D......Page 84 E......Page 100 F......Page 106 G......Page 120 H......Page 142 J......Page 168 K......Page 180 L......Page 188 M......Page 208 N......Page 236 O......Page 246 P......Page 260 Q......Page 282 R......Page 286 S......Page 306 T......Page 338 U......Page 352 V......Page 354 W......Page 358 Y......Page 378 Z......Page 382 Recommended Sources on American Women Writers......Page 386 Entries by Literary Genre......Page 392 Entries by Region/Subject Matter/Background/Style......Page 396 Entries by Year of Birth......Page 398 Credits......Page 400 Index......Page 402 Kort has updated her 2000 biographical dictionary of 150 American women writers with 36 new entries. She includes writers from colonial times to the present, from a variety of geographical regions, in the genres of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, journalism, childrens literature, and personal narrative. Among the authors who have been added are Erma Bombeck, Patricia Cornwell, Katharine Graham, Jhumpa Lahiri, Annie Proulx, and Sonia Sanchez. The entries are arranged alphabetically by last name and include the authors dates, the genres of the authors works, and a biographical sketch Through poetry, essays, biographies, and editing, American women have had a long and significant impact on the art of writing. Millions of American women have told their own stories or that of others. This book profiles 186 such women, among them poets, essayists, journalists, editors, novelists, memoirists, and numerous other types of writers. Through poetry, essays, biographies, and editing, American women have had a long and significant impact on the art of writing. This text examines the stories of 186 women, among them poets, essayists, journalists, editors, novelists, memoirists, and numerous other types of writers.