general

The thin paper and large number of pages are a trademark of the Norton Anthologies. It does not by any stretch of the imagination make them unreadable. I am working my way through the Norton Anthology of British Literature Volume I and it has about 2600 pages on this "thin" paper. I am finding the reading enjoyable. If you want to critize do on the basis of content of the book, not what it is made of.

Taking upon yourself the task of creating an anthology that represents an entire literary and cultural tradition strikes me as a daunting task. The editors who helm such a project are almost playing god by deciding which authors and which works get into the "canon." Fortunately, the editors of "The Norton Anthology of African American Literature" have approached their duties with an expansive vision and an evident seriousness of purpose. The result is a collection which, although not without flaws, is a comprehensive and powerful sampling of a great tradition.

The editors have chosen a rich selection of works from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. A good balance of male and female authors is struck. I was particularly impressed by the great range of genres. Poetry, essays, autobiography, short fiction, drama, sermons, song lyrics, and even a few complete short novels are included. Science fiction writers (Octavia Butler, Samuel R. Delany), writers also included in the canon of lesbian and gay literature (Audre Lorde, James Baldwin, Essex Hemphill) and writers whose works have an experimental edge (Adrienne Kennedy, etc.) are included.

The extensive author biographies include fascinating information about each writer's life and body of work. Bibliographies and a chronology at the end of the collection are also useful.

Of course, no anthology this ambitious is going to please everybody. As much as I liked the book, I still missed the presence of certain favorite authors (Pat Parker, SDiane Bogus, and others). And of the authors represented, there were those for whom I might have chosen some different or additional selections (Audre Lorde's essay "Man Child" would have made an excellent complement to the work already represented). And what about Afro-Latino/a writers like Jesus Colon? With the exception of Puerto Rican-born Arthur Schomburg, they appear to be almost entirely absent.

I am sure that others with a love for and expertise in African American literature will cite other authors whom they would have liked to have seen included. And perhaps others will find the collection as it is simply too big (more than 2600 pages!) and overwhelming. But all things considered, this anthology is a truly impressive achievement. It is an outstanding resource for teachers, students, and general readers.

True, the book is LONG, and printed on THIN pages. True, it includes just about everyone and everything rather than a selection of a few of the so-called "greatest" African-American writers. That is the beauty of it though, it is precisely what it claims to be: an anthology.

You won't be able to read it in a day or two. But it is a reference tool for your family. Read it slowly and carefully, and decide for yourself who is "worth including" and who isn't.

I think this book is great, but if the number of pages scares you, maybe it isn't the book for you.