This source aims to provide an increased understanding and appreciation of black literature. This text combines biography, plot synopsis and description of historic and modern movements, and presents information in a simple A-to-Z format. It includes discussion of: authors - from James Baldwin to Toni Morrison to Richard Wright; masterworks - from "I Know Why the Cages Bird Sings" to "Native Son" to "The Colour Purple"; literary styles - from surrealism to modernism to primitivism; movements that affected literature - from segregation and apartheid to civil rights; and descriptive details on spirituals, the Underground Railroad, the Harlem Rennaisance and other topics. Clearly defined are such terms as black nationalism, pan-Negro nationalism, the black aesthetic movement and the post-aesthetic movement.