Multicultural Literature: A Research Guide

This guide contains tips and strategies for locating biographical and critical information on American writers by ethnicity, as well as a bibliography of resources, both in print and online. This guide introduces researchers to some of the basic informational sources on the topic. The terms and phrases listed in the subject headings below can be used to search for more materials in the library's catalog and research databases. If you need further assistance, please ask a librarian.

American Ethnic Literatures: Native American, African American, Chicano/Latino, and Asian American Writers and their Backgrounds: An Annotated Bibliography by David R. Peck. Pasadena: Salem Press, 1992.
Annotated bibliography of primary and secondary works related to the four groups noted in the title, including background material such as brief narrative histories.

Minority Literatures (Voice of the Shuttle)
http://vos.ucsb.edu/browse.asp?id=2746
Links to resources in minority literature.

New Immigrant Literatures in the United States. A Sourcebook to Our Multicultural Literary Heritage by Alpana S. Knippling. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1996. ISBN: 0313289689.
Presents a critical introduction to post-World War II immigrant literatures of the United States, including work by Asian-American, Caribbean-American, European-American, and Mexican-American writers.

African American Writers, 2nd ed. edited by Valerie Smith. 2 vols. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2001. ISBN: 068480638X.
Introduction to African-American writers who have made a significant contribution to American and world letters.

African-American Women Writers of the 19th Century
http://digital.nypl.org/schomburg/writers_aa19/
A digital collection of 52 published works by 19th-century black women writers providing access to the thought, perspectives and creative abilities of black women, as captured in books and pamphlets published prior to 1920.

Asian American Literature: An Annotated Bibliography by King-Kok Cheung and Stan Yogi. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1988. ISBN: 087352960X.
Covers writers of Asian descent living in the United States or Canada, and includes listings for both primary and secondary sources.

The Asian Pacific American Heritage: a Companion to Literature and Arts edited by George Leonard. New York: Garland, 1999. ISBN: 0815329806.
Collection of articles on the work of contemporary Asian-Pacific American writers and artists.

Biographical Dictionary of Hispanic Literature in the United States: the Literature of Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans, and other Hispanic Writers by Nicolás Kanellos. New York: Greenwood Press, 1989. ISBN: 0313244650.
Guide of Hispanic writers living and writing in the United States and Puerto Rico.

Chicano Literature: A Reference Guide by Julio A. Martínez and Francisco A. Lomelí. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1985. ISBN: 0313236917.
Entries on major Chicano authors and important topics in the study of Chicano literature. Each author entry includes brief biographic information, a discussion of major works, a bibliography of the author's writings, and sources of criticism.

Handbook of Hispanic Cultures in the United States: Literature and Art edited by Nicolás Kanellos and Claudio Esteva-Fabregat. 4 vols. Houston: Arte Publico Press, 1993–1994. ISBN: 1558850740.
Surveys the history and development of Puerto Rican, Cuban, Chicano, and Hispanic literatures in the United States.

HAPI (Hispanic American Periodicals Index)
http://hapi.gseis.ucla.edu
Contains information about Central and South America, Mexico, the Caribbean basin, the United States-Mexico border region and Hispanics in the United States.

Masterpieces of Latino Literature edited by Frank Northen Magill. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. ISBN: 0062701061.
Includes articles on classic and newly popular works of fiction and nonfiction; general essays about the plays, short stories, poetry, and essays of major Latino writers and thinkers.

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Native American Authors
www.ipl.org/div/natam/
Provides brief information about Native North American authors including bibliographies of their published works, biographical information, and links to online resources including interviews, online texts, and tribal Web sites.

Native American Literatures: An Encyclopedia of Works, Characters, Authors, and Themes by Kathy J. Whitson. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 1999. ISBN: 0874369320.
Provides basic information about the authors, works, and themes integral to Native American letters.

Native North American Literature: Biographical and Critical Information on Native Writers and Orators from the United States and Canada from Historical Times to the Present edited by Janet Witalec, Jeffery Chapman, and Christopher Giroux. Detroit: Gale Research, 1994. ISBN: 0810398982.
Organized in two parts—oral literature and written literature. Includes biographical sketches, brief essays evaluating each author's work, and bibliographies.