Bio-Bibliographies in American Literature – serie

Journalist, poet, prose and fiction writer, and well-known wit, the inimitable Dorothy Parker (1893-1967) had something to say about virtually all her contemporaries among the literati, and they returned the favor in full measure. This well articulated primary and secondary bibliography covers the complete canon and its critical reaction, with illuminating annotations complemented by a biographical sketch. Included also are three personal views of Parker-- by Joseph Bryan, III, Richard Lauterbach, and Wyatt Cooper. The accumulated evidence suggests that Parker should be considered a major figure in American letters not just America's wittiest woman who happened to write.

Bruce Kellner worked directly from the collection of often-overlooked novelist Donald Windham to produce this reference work. Entries on books, pamphlets, articles and criticism provided a comprehensive record of Windham's literary development, critical reception, failures, and achievements. According to Kellner, the public has yet to fully embrace the quiet eloquence of Windham's work; like authors Herman Melville and Gertrude Stein, he may be vindicated by time.Kellner introduces the bio-bibliography with a discussion of Donald Windham's background, writing style, and reception by publishers and readers. He likens Windham's subtle style to E.M. Forster, and he suggests that America's action-oriented culture lacks patience for Windham's offerings, which are homosexual but not erotic, Southern but not gothic. The book, which includes an addendum to the introduction by Windham himself, is divided into five parts: Books and Pamphlets, Books and Pamphlets with Contributions, Contributions to Periodicals, Ephemera, and Criticism and Biography. This book is valuable to students, scholars, and general audiences of literature.

In 1959, Walter M. Miller, Jr., culminated a brief publishing career of eight years with his only novel, A Canticle for Leibowitz. Since that time he has not published another new piece of fiction, although it has been announced that the long anticipated second novel, a parallel work to Canticle, will soon be finished. That one book, however, along with a handful of short stories and novellas, has secured for him a position among the best and most original contemporary science fiction writers. More than thirty years after its publication, Canticle continues to be hailed as one of the greatest science fiction novels ever written and an important work of modern literature.This reference guide presents a complete record of Miller's work and of the resulting criticism. The primary bibliography is divided into books, both English and foreign-language editions; short fiction in periodicals; anthologized works; nonfiction; and adaptations. In the books section, a physical description of English-language first editions is given. Annotations and content notes are provided as appropriate for the other sections, and characters in the short fiction are listed and identified. The secondary material, organized chronologically, contains annotated entries for articles and parts of books, reviews, and dissertations. Also included are a biographical and critical essay on Miller, glossaries of characters and terms and of allusions and other representations in A Canticle for Leibowitz, and individual indexes for both the primary and secondary materials. Title pages, book covers, and jackets of the major works are reproduced.

Anne Tyler is one of America's most significant contemporary writers. This book is a solid introduction to her life and work. It includes the first biography of Tyler, along with a record of her writings and the response to her work. It incorporates source materials from the Anne Tyler Papers at Duke University and letters from Tyler to the author. The volume lists all of Tyler's novels, short stories, articles, and book reviews and provides an annotated bibliography of critical studies.The first half of the book is a biography of Tyler. The author describes her childhood in a North Carolina commune, her high school years in Raleigh, her college years at Duke, and her earliest writing efforts. The biography charts the development of her life and career through her marriage, motherhood, early novels and stories, her life in Baltimore and career as a book reviewer, her rise to fame, and the themes of her major works. The bibliography that follows lists her novels, short stories, nonfiction articles and essays, poetry, children's books, book reviews, and the manuscripts in her papers at Duke University, along with an annotated secondary bibliography.