Multicultural Writers since 1945: An A-to-Z Guide

(Hardback)

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Description

The end of World War II led to increased interest in multicultural concerns and a flourishing of literary and artistic endeavors. It was also a time of decolonization and the emergence of new nations and cultures clamoring for recognition and respect. The political circumstances following World War II exposed many people to other cultures. This reference discusses the experiences of writers active since 1945 who were shaped by cultures other than their own. Included are alphabetically arranged entries for more than 100 writers, including Chinua Achebe, W.H. Auden, Mircea Eliade, Jamaica Kincaid, Salman Rushdie, and Elie Wiesel. The profiled authors either lived in another culture voluntarily or were wrenched from one culture into another. Each entry includes a brief biography, a discussion of multicultural themes in the writer's works, a review of criticism, and primary and secondary bibliographies. The volume closes with a selected, general bibliography. The reference demonstrates the value of multicultural experiences in the lives of writers around the world and fosters a greater appreciation of cultural diversity.

Reviews

"This volume is recommended for academic and large public library collections....[f]or those international authors whose work is just beginning to be discovered or appreciated, this volume is virtually the only place for biographichal and critical information."-Reference & User Services Quarterly
[A]imed at lovers of literature who delight in critical examination and who want to improve their own writing through appreciation of that of others.-Library Journal
[T]he single-volume coverage offered by Multicultural Writers since 1945 sets these "authors who crossed borders" in a particular context. Highly recommended for academic and larger public libaries.-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin
[W]ell constructed, lucid, informative and stimulating. The work demonstrates the value of multicultural experience and gives an enhanced appreciation of cultural diversity. Recommended for literature and multicultural collections in particular, and for larger, general collections.-Reference Reviews
Starred Review The work is unusual because, though about one-third of the collection presents recognizable authors, the majority of the writers will be unfamiliar to most American readers....Aside from extensive travel, there is no better way to learn abouth other cultures than to read original stories and poems....Students and teachers of foreign languages may be inspired to translate books, stories, and poems that will offer the American reading public a more global view of our world. Highly Recommended.-Library Media Connection
This volume is recommended for academic and large public library collections....[f]or those international authors whose work is just beginning to be discovered or appreciated, this volume is virtually the only place for biographichal and critical information.-Reference & User Services Quarterly
This work picks up where its predecessor, Multicultural Writers from Antiquity to 1945, left off, providing biobibliographic sketches for an excellent collection of multicultural writers and assessing the impact of their literature during the last half the 20th century. Entries, alphabetically arranged, offer standard biographical essays, but more important are the "Multicultural Theme" and "Survey of Criticism" sections, which describe the cultural influences on each writer's work. Not merely groupings of writers from different countries, this collection scribes a distinctive curve by focusing on the multiculturalism that informs the literary fabric of each writer's body of work. More importantly, by acknowledging the influence of intellectual concerns from other cultures in politics, philosophy, science, and literature, the book creates what it calls a "literary geography" that appoints these particular authors social witnesses at the global window of change during this transitional period. A gem among multicultural studies. Highly recommended. Undergraduate and graduate-level research.-Choice
"Aimed at lovers of literature who delight in critical examination and who want to improve their own writing through appreciation of that of others."-Library Journal
"The single-volume coverage offered by Multicultural Writers since 1945 sets these "authors who crossed borders" in a particular context. Highly recommended for academic and larger public libaries."-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin
"Well constructed, lucid, informative and stimulating. The work demonstrates the value of multicultural experience and gives an enhanced appreciation of cultural diversity. Recommended for literature and multicultural collections in particular, and for larger, general collections."-Reference Reviews
"[A]imed at lovers of literature who delight in critical examination and who want to improve their own writing through appreciation of that of others."-Library Journal
"[T]he single-volume coverage offered by Multicultural Writers since 1945 sets these "authors who crossed borders" in a particular context. Highly recommended for academic and larger public libaries."-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin
"[W]ell constructed, lucid, informative and stimulating. The work demonstrates the value of multicultural experience and gives an enhanced appreciation of cultural diversity. Recommended for literature and multicultural collections in particular, and for larger, general collections."-Reference Reviews
"Starred Review The work is unusual because, though about one-third of the collection presents recognizable authors, the majority of the writers will be unfamiliar to most American readers....Aside from extensive travel, there is no better way to learn abouth other cultures than to read original stories and poems....Students and teachers of foreign languages may be inspired to translate books, stories, and poems that will offer the American reading public a more global view of our world. Highly Recommended."-Library Media Connection
"This work picks up where its predecessor, Multicultural Writers from Antiquity to 1945, left off, providing biobibliographic sketches for an excellent collection of multicultural writers and assessing the impact of their literature during the last half the 20th century. Entries, alphabetically arranged, offer standard biographical essays, but more important are the "Multicultural Theme" and "Survey of Criticism" sections, which describe the cultural influences on each writer's work. Not merely groupings of writers from different countries, this collection scribes a distinctive curve by focusing on the multiculturalism that informs the literary fabric of each writer's body of work. More importantly, by acknowledging the influence of intellectual concerns from other cultures in politics, philosophy, science, and literature, the book creates what it calls a "literary geography" that appoints these particular authors social witnesses at the global window of change during this transitional period. A gem among multicultural studies. Highly recommended. Undergraduate and graduate-level research."-Choice

Author Bio

ALBA AMOIA is Associate Professor Emerita of Romance Languages at Hunter College of the City University of New York and previously taught at Columbia University. She also held positions at the United Nations, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the State Department Language Division. She is coeditor of Multicultural Writers from Antiquity to 1945 (Greenwood, 2002). BETTINA L. KNAPP is Professor Emerita of French and Comparative Literature at Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She is the author of more than 50 books and is coeditor of Multicultural Writers from Antiquity to 1945 (Greenwood, 2002).