Octavia E. Butler

Mary Ellen Snodgrass is an award-winning author of English and Latin textbooks and reference works for 40 years. She taught at Hickory High School and Lenoir Rhyne University in North Carolina for 23 years. Her writing focuses on women’s and world literature and history and general research topics, including epidemics, the history of money, clothing, food, and dance. She lives in Hickory, North Carolina.

“Octavia Butler's profound influence as a sf writer, a woman writer, and a Black writer is growing. This reference work guides readers through Butler's work. The introduction provides background influences and shows overwhelming evidence of Butler's importance. The fifty-page biography marks her life and writings in terms of significant dates in her life. Most of the book describes and analyzes each work of Butler's, with entries arranged in alphabetical order. Themes, literary devices, major characters and titles are each given individual attention....Snodgrass's writing is clear and research-based...the layout is very readable. This volume is worthy of Butler, and should interest the eager reader and scholar.”—Booklist

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgments deleteviiiPrefaceIntroductionButler BiographyButler GenealogyThe CompanionAphorisms by Octavia ButlerGlossaryA Guide to Writing, Art, and Research TopicsBibliographyIndex