ABC-CLIO literary companion

ABC-CLIO's Encyclopedia of Satirical Literature brings together commentary on some of the best and most influential satirical works from throughout history and around the world. Organized alphabetically, it lists key works and characters, authors, pertinent terms, styles, and literary periods. Entries for individual works feature plot summaries and analyses of satirical content. Author entries include glimpses of colorful lives and masterly achievements. This illustrated volume also includes a timeline of satire covering works from the eighth century B.C. to the present; cross-references and bibliographic citations with each entry; a master bibliography; and a comprehensive subject index. Differentiating the genre of satire from the incidental use of satire, it illustrates the various forms this universal literary tool can take in the fight against the perceived evils that cling to social inequality, wealth and power, political and ecclesiastical corruption, war, and industrialization.

"The Encyclopedia of Frontier Literature surveys 400 years of North American frontier literature. Within this literary context, the roles of women and minorities are given special attention, as is the expansion of the American West. The sheer scope of frontier literature is striking; this genre belongs as much to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and James Fenimore Cooper as it does to Willa Cather and Jessamyn West. From novels, short stories, and poetry to theater, oratory, outdoor dramas, songs, biographies, diaries, journals, and logbooks, frontier literature is characterized and unified by its rich expression of human experience. In the 94 alphabetized entries in this volume, readers will find dozens of authors and hundreds of works represented, as well as biographies, key concepts, terms, geographic locations, literary motifs, and dominant themes, including Explorers of the Frontier, Law and Order, Native Americans in Literature, Naturalists, and Poetry of the Frontier."--BOOK JACKET.

ABC-CLIO's Encyclopedia of Southern Literature surveys the region's major authors, works, movements, genres, and themes as a method of illustrating its contributions to American and world literature. The alphabetically arranged entries contain biographical and literary history along with bibliographic citations, critical commentary, and cross-references. Major works such as I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Gone with the Wind, and Black Boy appear in separate entries. There are also extended essays on women in Southern literature, Robert E. Lee, humor, protest literature, the Mississippi River, the frontier tradition, the colonial and Civil War periods, theater, and regional writers. Emphasis is given to women writers, diarists, young adult literature, African-American writers, and recent bestsellers. A list of home states indicates the authors from each Southern state as well as the many writers born outside the region, including Fanny Kemble, Alex Haley, Ralph Ellison, Jackie Torrence, and Edgar Allan Poe. Other study aids include a list of major works and their publication dates, a chronology of cinematic versions of major titles, and a listing of primary sources. Student researchers, genealogists, folklorists, librarians and general readers will appreciate this compelling, definitive reference work on the American South's contribution to the American and world literature.