InfoGuides: African American Literature: Authors/Biographies

Biography Databases

Gale Literary Sources
A database that provides literary criticism, author biographies from multiple sources including: Dictionary of Literary Biography Complete Online, Literature Criticism Online, Literature Resource Center, Scribner Writers Series, and Twayne's Authors Series.
Oxford African American Studies Center
A comprehensive collection of scholarship available online to focus on the lives and events which have shaped African American and African history and culture. The content include:
African American National Biography, Dictionary of African Biography, and Black Women in America, Second Edition

American National Biography This link opens in a new window
Provides biographical information for over 18,000 people from all eras who have influenced and shaped American history and culture. Most entries include photos, bibliographies, and links to selected websites.
HistoryMakers This link opens in a new window
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Collection of video oral history interviews with African Americans who have made significant contributions in a wide variety of fields. The collection includes over 2,500 interviews. Each interview is divided into several “stories,” which are video clips that describe specific life events. Interviewees are from all regions of the United States, and their personal and family histories span from the late 19th to the early 21st century.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography This link opens in a new window
Collects 50,000 illustrated biographies of the men and women who shaped British history and culture over a 2,500-year period. note: Updated three times per year in January, May, and September.

Websites of African American Authors

The Academy of American Poets
Search more than 3,000 biographies of contemporary and classic poets. You can browse all poets, filter the list by state and schools & movements, or search by name.
African American Women Writers of the 19th Century
Created by the New York Public Library. Includes a digital collection of published works by 19th-century black women writers, biographies for each author, citations and more.
List of African - American writers in Wikipedia
A list of African - American writers compiled by Wikipedia with a link to the Wiki entry of each writers.
Modern American Poetry Site
Click "Poets" on the top menu bar to search.
Postcolonial Studies @ Emory
Click on "Authors & Artists" and browse.
Voices from the Gaps: Women Writers of Color
Created by faculty at the University of Minnesota to uncover, highlight, and share the works of marginalized artists, predominately women writers of color living and working in North America.

Websites of Selected Authors

There are many websites where you can find biographical information on African American authors with a simple Google search. (e.g. "Toni Morrison Biography"). Below are some examples.