Summary

Praise for the previous edition:
"The entries are informative and written in a lively, engaging style, making this reference book a pleasure to read...[an] invaluable resource."—VOYA

"Recommended..."—Choice

"...a solid compendium of biographical profiles...recommended..."—Library Journal

"...readable...accessible...offers plenty of good background information."—School Library Journal

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 the stories of others, or they’ve used writing as a way to create another world. A to Z of American Women Writers, Revised Edition profiles 186 such women, among them poets, essayists, journalists, editors, novelists, memoirists, and numerous other types of writers. This engaging resource examines the stories of women from a wide array of cultures and generations who share a love of writing. These women are also united by the unique challenges facing women writers—some having to opt for masculine pen names in order to be published.

This thoroughly revised book updates the story of each individual to the present day and contains 36 new profiles. The book is enhanced with 63 photographs that depict the women profiled. An updated bibliography provides listings of books and Web sites about women writers in general as well as specific resources about subcultures of female writers. Subject indexes allow the reader to search by such literary genres as "biographer" and "nature writer." Additional subject indexes organize individuals by subject matter and style as well as the era during which they were born.

Profiles include:

• Erma Bombeck, humorist whose column "At Wit's End" explored domestic life
• Amy Clampitt, poet and MacArthur Fellowship recipient
• Patricia Cornwell, mystery writer who draws on her experience as a medical examiner for inspiration
• Barbara Ehrenreich, whose work explores social and economic issues in the United States
• Katherine Graham, former publisher of the Washington Post
• Jhumpa Lahiri, whose debut book of short stories won the Pulitzer Prize
• Nella Larson, novelist and winner of a Guggenheim fellowship
• Annie Proulx, who describes isolated locales in such places as Canada, New England, and Wyoming
• Sonia Sanchez, poet and playwright whose work promotes social and racial justice
• Esmeralda Santiago, memoirist who writes of her childhood in Puerto Rico and New York City.

Specifications

Black-and-white photographs. Index. Subject indexes. Bibliography. Cross-references. Further reading lists.

About the Author(s)

Carol Kort holds a B.A. in comparative literature from New York University and has also studied at Washington University and the Sorbonne in Paris. She is a freelance writer whose articles have appeared in the New York Times, New York Times Education Life magazine, Boston Globe Magazine, Boston Herald magazine, and national magazines such as Working Mother and Vegetarian Times. She has also written two weekly columns for the Boston Herald and a book of profiles for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. For Facts On File, she is also the coauthor of A to Z of American Women in the Visual Arts.